Escape
by Ushuaia1
Summary: Max vows to start over again, and flees from her life. How will she confront her past when it comes back to haunt her? NOT Related to my other stories.
1. Default Chapter

-1Max stared at the window on the second floor of their affluent Greenwich home, and she watched the rain drip down the pane. Gazing out at the gray landscape she felt trapped, and didn't know how to escape this nightmare she was stuck in. The landscape spread out in front of her, darkened by the storms of the late afternoon. Catching sight of her reflection in the dim window, Max realized that she hardly knew herself anymore. Despite the misery surrounding her she was still the vision of perfection for him, and he wouldn't allow it to be any other way. They had an image to uphold after all, she thought. Looking impeccable in well cut Prada pants and sky-blue cashmere sweater that matched her eyes, she longed for the simpler days of jeans and sweatshirts. Her hair had grown longer, which Max actually didn't mind, but at his urging she had dyed it lighter and lighter, until it was at its present golden blonde hue. Sighing, she turned away from the image because she didn't want to see who she had become.

How did I get here, Max wondered silently, well I know how I got here because I was stupid. I don't know how to leave though, but what happened to the woman I was three years ago? She was fearless, and tackled any challenge that was in front of her. She wasn't this polished designer mannequin I see now, and I don't think anyone who know me back then would recognize me.

"Maxine?" he called from downstairs. "Where are you?"

Cringing at the tone of his voice, the last thing she wanted to do was to go downstairs and talk to him. Her husband, the provider, supposed soul mate, more like my jailer, Max thought. I wonder what I forgot to do today? Do we have some function to go to that I forgot about?

"Maxine, I know you're here. I've been trying to call you, haven't you heard the telephone ringing? We have some topics to discuss. I worried about you honey because you seem so unhappy lately, let me help you," he pleaded, as she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs. "The Petersons are expecting us for dinner, and I want you to be on your best behavior."

Letting out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding, and Max felt somewhat relieved that it wouldn't be one of those nights after all. Rising shakily from the window seat, she made her way toward the staircase. Smoothing any possible wrinkles from her clothing, Max made her way to the stop of the staircase to greet him.

He gazed at her from halfway up, and she didn't like the way his lips curled when he did. What did I do, she wondered silently?

"How was your meeting today?" he asked slowly. "At the club?"

Oh shit, she thought, oh shit, before replying weakly. "The club? Oh, it went fine."

"Really?" he drawled. "I got a call from Susan Baker, the chairwoman, asking where you were. She had tried the house, but got no answer. So where were you, my wife? Who were you with?"

"No one," Max insisted, cursing herself. "I went for a walk on the grounds, and I just forgot. I'm sorry."

"You're lying," he hissed, moving up towards her. "Who were you with, you whore? Don't try to make a fool of me!"

"I was alone," Max stammered. "Please, Jose saw me down by the lake! He'll tell you I was alone!

"Jose? That's whom you met," he growled. "How many times do I have to tell you that you're my wife. MINE! I won't have you embarrassing me like this!"

Max took an involuntary step backward as he climbed the rest of the stairs, and moved in front of her. Slowly he cupped her head in his hands, and she trembled from the venom in his eyes. He ran one hand through her hair, and despite her terror she couldn't move. It would only make it worse.

"Get dressed," he hissed. "You look awful. I don't know who would want you, but you have to keep throwing yourself at people. We're meeting the Petersons in an hour."

Max nodded weakly, as he stormed back down the stairs. Wrapping her arms around herself, she didn't want to make him anymore angry then he was.

**111111111111111111**

Kenny Lacos was having a really crappy day back in Rome Wisconsin, and as he eyed the body in the morgue he had a feeling it was going to get a whole lot worse. Carter was buzzing around the teenagers body nervously before turning to speak with him and Jimmy.

"He's been dead for a while, a couple of months at least," Carter explained. "Cause of death was a major drug overdose, looks like some new hallucinogenic. Here's the kicker though, the needle marks are all in his posterior, and there is no way he could have injected them himself at that angle."

"And?" Kenny prompted impatiently.

"I think he was used as a guinea pig," Carter continued. "There is no way he could have had this much in his system, and still manage a syringe."

"Murder?" Jimmy asked.

"That's my official ruling," Carter affirmed, nodding.

Terrific, Kenny thought, just what I need know as Carter prattled on about his theory.

**111111111111111111**

"That's a gorgeous dress," Michelle Peterson said softly to Max that night, "I adore the color."

"Thank you. It's one of my favorites," Max said with a smile, as she felt his eyes upon her. "Your house looks incredible Michelle, is that a new painting?"

Max continued to smile as Michelle began telling her about her and Georges recent art shopping expedition. Letting her lead her in for a closer look, Max longed to remove her heels. After her walk that afternoon, her entire body ached, and she wanted to crawl up in front of the fire with a good book. Tuning Michelle back in, she tried to forget about what would happen when they went back home.

"Ahh, two beautiful ladies," another guest Michael Bernard said with a wide smile. "How did your husbands let you wander away?"

"Oh you charmer," Michelle said with a wave.

"I try," Michael agreed, his gaze sliding to Max. "Maxine, you look lovely. I had lunch with your husband the other day, and all he could talk about was you."

"Really?" Max said surprised. "Last I heard you were abroad. London, if I remember correctly."

"Excuse me, I have to go check on something in the kitchen," Michelle said as one of the maids waved her over. "I'll catch up with you both later."

"I got back a few weeks ago," Michael said, as they watched her depart. "Just in time for the parties. When are the two of you having yours?"

"Three weeks," Max replied, relaxing for the first time in hours. "I hope you got your invitation."

"Oh, I'll be there," Michael promised. "I never pass up an invitation from such a fetching female."

"Now you're just teasing me," Max said, with a small smile, enjoying the compliments that she heard so few of. "Where is your date Michael?"

"I'm solo," he said distantly, as Max saw him watching her again and she knew the fury in his eyes.

"I hate to cut this short," she said apologetically. "But I really have to run to the little girl's room."

"Understandable, but it's always a pleasure to talk to you," he replied with a warm smile before lowering his voice. "You know why? You're real, Maxine, and if you ever want to talk about what is troubling you . . . you can call me."

Max just looked at him for an instant before fleeing towards the restroom. No one can know, she thought. I can't tell anyone. Leaning up against the door, she closed her eyes and let the memories drift over her.

_"How could you do this," Kenny exclaimed. "Max, the guy is nut! Look what he does to you!"_

_"What does he do to me Kenny? Tell me," she demanded. "He loves me!"_

_"Bullshit! You're different with him. He makes you jump through hoops to please him! Look at what you did!"_

_"Of course I'm different with him! I love him!"_

_"That's not it! He's hurting you Max. I can see it! You're not the same woman that I've worked with all these years! I don't even know you anymore! The Max I know and love wouldn't have done this!"_

_"The Max you know and love?" she repeated thrown for a second. "Kenny?"_

_He looked as taken back as she did, as he stammered. "As a friend, Max I care what happens to you. You're my best friend damn it."_

_"Then be happy for me Kenny. I just got married after all."_

"He was right," Max said softly. "Why didn't I listen? It's too late now."

Kenny opened his apartment door wearily, and was happy to not find Rachel there. After sleeping with her for almost three years, Kenny was growing tired of it. It had become habit after all that time, and the sex was good. Tossing his bag on the couch, he paused at the fridge for a beer as his eyes fell on a picture on the door. Pulling it free of the magnet, he studied the picture of him and Max taken five years ago. Both clad in jeans and sweatshirts, beers in hand, he had one arm wrapped around her shoulders and they were both smiling. I miss her, he thought, and she hasn't returned my calls in weeks. Things were shaky after she left two years ago, but I always thought that we would stay friends. They had drifted apart, and he supposed she was happy with her new life in Greenwich. Kenny had to admit he was shocked when she gave up her job to follow him there. Leaning up against he counter, he sighed. He missed his friend.

**111111111111111111**

"You were flirting with him," he growled the minute they went inside. "Why won't you learn? What is wrong with you?"

_"_I wasn't," Max insisted uselessly as he steam rolled right over her.

"You sneak around this afternoon, then you flirt with another man right in front of me! You'll not humiliate me like this Maxine! I'll have to teach you!"

"Please," she whimpered stumbling away from him. "Please don't hurt me."

**111111111111111111**

Kenny was still lost in his own thoughts as Rachel kissed him that night. Kissing her back he wondered how Max would react if he showed up on her doorstep, not that he cared what he husband thought. God, he couldn't stand that guy. He couldn't talk to anyone like he could talk to her, even if they had all this distance between them now. Last time they had spoke, she had sounded kind of distracted and he hadn't liked the tone of her voice then. He had feeling she was ducking his calls now, and Kenny wasn't sure he should feel slighted by that. They did live half a country apart after all, and as long as she was happy, he knew he should be happy for her.

I should have told her sooner, he thought, as he whispered. "Max."

**111111111111111111**

"There," he hissed. "I hope you learned."

Max wrapped the blanket around her nude and shivering form. Her once perfect hair and make up were is wild disarray, and her body throbbed in pain. He hadn't struck anywhere that wouldn't be covered in clothing, and she wanted to crawl in the shower and rinse the pain away. Her ribs felt like a football team had trampled on them, and she hoped that none were broken. Max feared that she might have to get a new doctor because of all her injuries. She didn't want him to report it, and she was a cop for too long not to know that he might. Is that what I want, she asked herself as he continued to glower at her?

"Clean yourself up before bed, I want you to pleasure me tonight," he said lowly, "Not that you do that particularly well. I don't know what all of them see in you. GET UP!"

Max struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on the chair. Tightening the blanket around her, her legs trembled. Hating herself in that moment, she watched the mad light dance in his eyes. Ignoring the burning in her stomach, she stumbled towards the bathroom.

**111111111111111111**

"What did you just call me?" Rachel asked, shocked at the same time. "Kenny?"

"Huh?" Kenny replied numbly, trying to clear his thoughts.

"You called me Max," she said pulling back, "Max."

Oh shit, Kenny thought. "Um. I didn't mean too. I was thinking about her earlier, I was looking at that picture on the fridge... Rachel... I just was wondering what was going on in her life."

"No," she said softly. "It's more then that, it's always been."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kenny replied, his words sounding false to even his ears. "She's married for gods sake."

"To a man who is a jerk, even I have to agree with that," Rachel replied. "I knew how close you two were... I thought that you might move past that, and I thought you did..."

"She's my friend," Kenny insisted. "If we're even that any more."

Rachel nodded sadly. "Why are we still together, Kenny? I'm 25 years older then you are, why haven't you moved on?"

"Rachel."

"No, I want to know. I have my reasons, and I want to hear yours. Or should I tell you what I think? I think you're so hung up on Max, and you don't want to get involved with anyone. That way you don't have to move past her. You even said it. She's married. You have to make a choice, move on or go after her. I can't keep doing this with you."

"I should be happy for her," he said hoarsely. "She sounds happy enough."

"Is she?"

"I don't know."

Max toweled of her bruised body, and she could already see some of the welts forming across her abdomen. Cringing a bit from her reflection, she lowered herself to the edge of the tub. Wrapping the thick white towel around herself, she trembled. I can't do this anymore, she thought desperately. I'm not this woman. I never wanted to be her, how can I let him keep doing this to me? I have to leave. I have to run. Burying her head in her hands, it seemed impossible to her. He controlled all the finances, and she had a weekly allowance. I could sell my clothes Max thought wildly or the jewels he gives to me after a night like this. I haven't got any place to go, and none of our friends, his friends actually would believe me. Michael? Maybe, but I can't take that chance. I need to get out of here.

Fingering her blonde hair, Max felt something warm trickling down her leg. Glancing down, she screamed at the sight of the blood dripping down her leg.

**111111111111111111**

"I'm sorry," the doctor informed them. "She lost the baby."

"The baby? I didn't even know she was pregnant," he exclaimed, turning to look at his exhausted wife in the hospital bed. "Maxine, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, even though I suspected she thought.

"I'll leave you two alone," the doctor said observing the young woman's bruises and obvious fear of her husband, and he wanted to call the police to get them involved in this.

_"_Whose is it?" he asked, his voice dropping an octave. "Tell me!"

"It was yours," Max whispered.

"Then you should have told me!"

"I didn't know!"

"Liar! You're nothing but a whore, Maxine! You wanted to deprive me of my own child to raise your bastard! I'm going home. And when you get out of here tomorrow, we'll finish this."

Max raised her head of her pillow, and felt such a loss for the child she would never know. It filled her with an anger she didn't know she was capable of, and she wanted to kill him for the this. It was one thing to hurt her, but he had killed their child. Resolve boiled up inside her, and she vowed to leave him after she got out of the hospital.

"Good bye," she said evenly, as he stormed out.

**111111111111111111**

"Mam. Mrs. Shreve?" the cap lamented. "If your husband has hurt you, you have to let us know."

How odd, Max mused, to be on this side of it. I think I've said that before, with a different name of course. I don't care what happens to him because I just want to get away. I can't do this anymore.

"This is serious," the older, wizened cop said, trying to capture her attention. "You have a choice, if you go back to him he'll keep doing this to you. He will kill you if you stay with him."

He reminds me of Jimmy, Max thought as she looked at him. He really cares about the people he is trying to help, even if it is some pathetic, beaten woman.

"I don't want to press charges," Max said softly, but firmly. "I can't"

_"You hit me," Max astounded, staring at him after three months of marriage, two of which they had lived in Greenwich. Taking a stumbling step backward from him, "You hit me."_

_"You're not going to leave me Max," he said, grabbing her forearms. "Not for him, not for anyone! Understand? If you try, I'll have you committed first." _

_"Go to hell," Max spat. "Let go of me!"_

_"Understand me Maxine. You tell anybody, I'll have you locked up and no one will ever set you free," he said coldly. "Don't test me."_

_"Take your hands off of me," Max cried, not able to break free of his grip._

_"No one will believe you. Who are you anyway? No one. Just some dumb woman, and not the big shot deputy anymore!"_

_"Please! You're hurting me!"_

_"Don't ever disobey me again Maxine! I'll kill you before I'll let you go!"_

_He grabbed her by her wrists and dragged her upstairs._

"We can look into this without your help," he said again, breaking into her thoughts.

"Don't, it'll just make everything worse," Max begged. "I know how this works, believe me. I used to be . . . "

"Used to be what?" the cop asked intrigued by her.

"Yes Maxine. Tell us," he said from the doorway, as he glared at the two of them.

Fear and revulsion boiled inside of her, but she didn't want him to think anything had changed. As terrorized as she was by him, the last thing Max wanted him to consider was that she was leaving him as soon as she could. He had killed their child, and that was it. Maybe she deserved the beatings for being such a terrible wife, but their child hadn't even had a chance yet. Yes, Max thought, I'm leaving him, he'll never commit me anywhere. I'm not crazy.

"I used to be," she repeated. "On a planning committee, and as soon as I get out of the hospital I'm going to recommit to it. I want to refocus my energy on getting the new garden put in at the club.

"That is my wife, the do gooder," he said with a smile, as Max's words rang false in her ears. "Are we done hear Officer? I must be getting my wife home."

The cop glared at him before turning back to Max, "Mam, if you change your mind my name is Officer Sean McDonough, at the 64th precinct. You know where to reach me."

Oh, I hate that look of pity, Max thought as she fought to keep her voice even. "I won't. Good-bye Officer."

He looked at her thoughtfully before leaving, before shooting him a dark look. He glared back as he departed, and he pulled Max to her feet. "We're leaving now. I never want to see you talking to a police officer again, that part of your life is over. Your only duty is to me.

"I didn't tell him anything," Max said softly, feeling full of self loathing.

"Maybe I should tell him what a miserable wife you are. How you sleep around and embarrass me," he sneered. "I should tell everyone how pathetic you are."

Max shrank from him and didn't respond to him. Despite her resolve to leave him, she was still terrified of him and his anger chilled her. She knew he would kill if she stayed, and she had no doubt that it would happen sooner rather then later.

"You're all checked out. Let's go," he snapped. "No wheelchair. Walk."

**111111111111111111**

"You look deep in thought," Jimmy observed, as he watched Kenny study the same page of the autopsy for several minutes, and he knew his Deputy's mind wasn't on the information in front of him. Jill had talked to Rachel, and found out that their three year affair had ended a few days ago. "Anything going on?"

Kenny sighed before turning to face Jimmy. "Just thinking about some things. I've been trying to get in touch with Max, but they're probably traveling or something."

Jimmy caught the hitch in Kenny's voice when he mentioned Max, and he knew that he missed her more then he let on. "When was the last time you talked to her?"

"A few months ago, and she sounded odd," Kenny replied. "I was worried then, but I think she has been ducking my calls since then. Or not getting the messages."

"He wouldn't do that," Jimmy insisted, but he had his doubts about that.

"I should be happy for her," Kenny replied. "But I just have my doubts about the whole thing, something doesn't feel right with it."

"Call her," Jimmy suggested. "Hell, go see her for a few days."

"I might just do that," Kenny said distantly.

**111111111111111111**

Max just stared at the ceiling in their bedroom a few days later, and contemplated her future. It didn't seem to bright to her, and he seemed to have taken all sorts of measures to keep her from leaving him. Eyeing the small safe in the closet where she kept her jewels, she knew she could pawn some for cash. He gave her enough money to throw around when she had lunch with the ladies, or when she had to buy new clothes for one of their functions. Sitting up slightly Max visualized his office downstairs, and she knew he kept money in the safe down there. Not knowing the combination was a problem, but as a cop she learned how to crack into safes. During her time at the police academy her roommate taught her and Max often wondered how Lindsay was doing.

"I'm going out," he said from the doorway. "I'll tell the Thompsons that you are ill, Maxine, even though your friend Michael might miss you."

"Have fun," she said softly.

"I won't put up with you lying around like this for much longer," he continued.

"I just had a miscarriage last week," Max replied. "The doctors said that I had to rest."

"Saturday is the black and white ball at the club, we will both be attending," he said, turning to go. "The servants are gone, go to sleep, I want to talk to you when I get home."

Max nodded meekly, as he departed. I won't be here when you get home. I was wrong before, I don't deserve this. Hearing the door slam behind her, Max swung her legs over the side of the bed and quickly shed her pajamas. Rummaging through the dresser, she found a pair of old jeans and long sleeved t-shirt. Sliding her feet into sneakers, she grabbed a suitcase from the closet and quickly loaded the essentials into it, pants, sweaters, underwear, socks, no frills. None of the designer suits she wore to the club, the gowns, four inch heels, none of it. Tossing in some sneakers and loafers, Max moved to the safe. Staring at the rows of necklaces and bracelets she was shrewd enough to know which ones would pawn easiest and raise the least amount of suspicion. Tucking her handful of baubles into her purse, Max paused at the stack of photos in there. Pulling them out, she had to smile. Life in Rome, she thought studying a picture of her and Kenny taken at the Sheriff Department picnic so long ago. Sliding them into her bag, Max made her way to his study.

**111111111111111111**

"C'mon Max, pick up," Kenny said frustrated as the phone rang. Glaring at it he wondered if she really could be on vacation, but remembered that she said that this was prime party season in Greenwich. He tried to ignore the terror building in his gut, but it had never steered him wrong before. Deep down, he knew that Max was in trouble, and there was nothing he could do about it.

**111111111111111111**

"Yes," Max said to herself as the safe in his office popped open, "Yes."

Gazing at the contents, she was taken back. Besides piles of money, there were stacks of photographs, finical reports, and videotapes. Picking up the pictures Max was utterly shocked to see that they were of herself, times when she was at the club, shopping or even alone in the house. Glancing towards the tapes, she feared that she would be on them too. Grabbing a stack of cash, she saw her passport tucked into the corner too. Sliding it into her back pocket, she slammed the safe shut, and hauled her duffle bag over her shoulder. Glancing at his desk, she eyed his stationary before grabbing a pen. Sliding her wedding band and engagement ring off of her finger she began to write.

_Dear Danny,_

_I hope you enjoyed you party tonight. I'm sorry I've been such a horrid wife to you, and maybe you'll do better with the next one. By the time you read this I will be far away from here. I don't want anything from you, and I'll file the divorce papers soon. I'm sure we'll both be happier this way. Good luck._

_Maxine _

Folding it in half she laid it on his desk and dropped her rings next to it. Snatching her keys out of the bowl, Max silently made her way out into the night. Distantly she heard the phone ring, and she ran faster. If Danny was calling and she didn't answer, Max was terrified that he might come home early and look for her. Tossing her bag in the front seat of her silver Mercedes convertible, she floored it towards a new life.


	2. Crashing

-1"I can't believe I'm doing this," Max said aloud, as she careened out of Greenwich feeling more ecstatic about this then anything in a long time. "I'm actually getting away from him!"

Gazing at the open road in front of her, Max let a wide grin spread across her face. Not knowing where she was going was oddly thrilling to her, and all she knew is that she wasn't going back. Part of her wished that she could see Danny's reaction when he got home, and as soon as she got settled somewhere knew she promised herself she would file for divorce. He wasn't going to hurt her anymore. Part of her wished that she could be a fly on the wall when Danny realized that she was gone, and when he read her note. She should have kept her rings, Max thought with a small smile because they would have been easier to pawn for money then the diamond tennis bracelet.

"Symbolism," she said aloud, as she glanced at the clock, and saw it was approaching ten p.m.. Hitting the accelerator a little bit harder because she knew that Danny would be home toward eleven, unless he decided to surprise her and come home early. "You bastard."

Max let her thoughts drift to their relationship, and an involuntary shudder went through her.

_"You're not talking to any of them again," Danny snapped, four months after he had first hit her. "That part of your life is over, and you're to have no further contact with them."_

_"These people are my friends," Max said stubbornly. "Kenny is one of the people who I am closest to, and I'm not just going to walk away from that."_

_"He just wants to get you into bed Maxine," Danny sneered. "I've told you that before."_

_"No," Max said, noting on how he always called her by her full name. "It's not like that."_

_"Liar," he hissed, "You want him as much as he wants you! It's not going to happen though, and you know why? You're my wife, until death do us part."_

_Max swallowed as he advanced toward her, and yelped when he pushed her to the ground. "Please, Danny! Don't!"_

_He smiled maliciously at her before he raised his foot._

"Bastard," Max repeated, trying to shake of her dark thoughts. Speeding up some more, she exited Connecticut.

**222222222222222222222**

"I guess I missed you again Max, I just wanted to talk to you for a while," Kenny said into her and Danny's answering machine at the same time she was fleeing from him. "It's been awhile since I've heard from you, and I want to tell you some stuff. Give me a call sometime when you have the chance. Oh, it's Kenny by the way, you have my number."

I wonder if she is out of town, he thought, as he hung the phone up. Kenny couldn't ignore the uneasiness he was feeling, as much as he wanted to. He knew Max was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but he hated Danny. Something about the man didn't sit right with Kenny, and the thought of Max having to live halfway across the country with him made him worry even more. Thoughts heavy, he sunk back into the couch.

**222222222222222222222**

"Maxine," Danny called lowly from their doorway, "It's time to wake up."

He watched the still form lying under the covers in their darkened bedroom. He hated going to parties alone, and having to explain that his wife was too under the weather to attend. He had to stand there alone, and there was no reason why Dr. Daniel Shreve should ever have to go anywhere alone. Lunging toward the bed, he ripped the blankets away and his jaw dropped at the sight of three pillows scrunched together. Danny reeled away from the bed, and yanked open the doors to her closet. Staring at the rows of clothes and shoes, he pushed them aside to see if she was hiding from him back there. She wouldn't have left him, Danny raged internally, she wouldn't have the nerve. Slamming the doors shut, he rummaged through her dresser and screamed in anger when he saw that her drawers were empty.

"You bitch," he hissed, stomping through the house, throwing doors open and cursing Maxine at the same time. "You little tramp, gone out to meet your lover? You'll regret this when I find you, and you can't hide from me whore."

Flipping the light switch in his office, the glint on his desk caught his attention. Picking up her engagement and wedding ring, all Danny could do was stare. She couldn't have left him. She just couldn't have. Reaching for her note, he began to read.

**222222222222222222222**

Max fingered the airline ticket to Paris and she had no clue what to do with it. As she drove through New York City a vague plan had begun to form, and she didn't take it as a good sign that she was already beginning to deviate from it. She knew the charge would show up on the credit card statement, and she hoped that it would throw Danny off of her trail a bit because Max had no doubt that he would come after her.

Smiling at the agent, she watched as it was run through. Taking back the stub, Max paused and glanced back behind her. Oh what the hell she thought, spinning around back toward the airport. Smiling at the gate agent again she said. "Sorry, I want to make a phone call first."

"Hold on to your boarding pass Mam," the agent replied as she continued to check people in.

Max slipped away toward the phones, and as the agent turned her eyes away from her direction, she blended into the crowd and walked away. Picking up her pace a bit she burst out onto the sidewalk and hailed a cab.

"Grand Central Station, please," she said on a whim to the cab driver, hugging her duffel bag close to her. Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror, Max pulled her hat down more securely on her head, and pushed a strand of honey blond hair off of her face.

"Sure thing," he agreed flatly, as they burst into the city traffic.

Relaxing against the seat, Max had to pray that the agent wouldn't remember her. Watching the lights as they streaked by she wasn't exactly sure where she should go, and the last thing she wanted to do was drag anyone else through this mess with her. Start over, she thought, just start over. Glancing at her hair again, one of the first things to do was to change her appearance. Danny would be looking for a blond, and Max knew that he hardly remembered her as a red head, just this thing that she had become.

Smiling to herself, Max promised that she would stop by the pharmacy the first chance she got.

**222222222222222222222**

Danny glared at the light blinking on the answering machine. "That better be you Maxine, for your own sake."

Listening to Kenny's message made his blood boil. You think that you can steal my wife away from me? She knows who you really are, and you'll never have her. Danny deleted the message, and reached for the phone as the first inklings of a plan began to form. No one would know that she had left him, and he wouldn't allow that. He crumpled her note and tossed it into the fire. Smiling he dialed, and set his idea into action.

"Did you read this?" Jill Brock sputtered to her husband as he came down the stairs the next morning. "Jimmy!"

His distraught wife shoved the paper into his hands, and Jimmy couldn't think of what could have driven her into this kind of tizzy. "It can't be that bad."

"Just read it," Jill snapped. "It is."

"Oh shit," he said quietly, as he looked at her picture and was mildly surprised by how she looked. Very blonde, polished, all that make-up. "How . . . She's really gone? I'm calling the station up there, Jill . . . Shit."

Jill looked down at the picture as Jimmy read the article that had shaken her to her core that morning. She couldn't believe it, and as much distance that was between them, Jill still cared and worried about her. Rereading the article with Jimmy, the situation didn't sit well with her, and she could see that it didn't with her husband either.

"We should call him," Jimmy said lowly. "I think Max would have liked that."

"There has to be something redeemable about him, she did marry him after all," Jill conceded. "But with the way he froze us all out of her life, I'm not sure he'd appreciate it."

"They're thinking it might be one of his patients," Jimmy said, "I didn't know they had people that insane in Greenwich, I thought they would all be medicated. Kidnapped, god. I remember with Kimberly . . . it's awful not to be able to do anything."

Jill leaned into her husband. "I know."

**222222222222222222222**

"I knew something was wrong," Kenny said evenly, as he paced back and forth in Jimmy's office that same morning. "I tried calling her last night, and she didn't pick up . . . "

Jimmy had just gotten off the phone with the authorities in Greenwich, and they had filled in with some of the scant details that they had obtained. He hadn't liked the officer's tone, but the evidence they had found disturbed him even more. The fact that there wasn't any.

"This whole thing is odd," Jimmy said thoughtfully as he watched the younger man. "Have a seat Kenny. This whole thing doesn't make any sense. The alarm was on when Danny came home, yet there was a window broken, and it didn't go off? No sign of a struggle, and according to him nothing was missing. No blood or note left behind. Only a broken window, Max's car was gone, and her."

"You think she left him?" Kenny asked, following Jimmy's line of thinking. "But why the window then?"

"I don't know," Jimmy conceded. "They found three pillows in the center of the bed, and all of the dresser drawers were open, and fairly empty, but Danny said they were always that way."

"Max loved clothes, they should have been full," Kenny argued. "She used to have clothes hanging from the ceiling."

"Yeah," Jimmy said, as he snatched up the ringing phone on his desk. "Sheriff Brock."

"Hello, you just called the Greenwich Police Department," a voice said. "I know they aren't the most helpful bunch, but you knew her right? Maxine Shreve?"

"Yes," Jimmy replied, wondering where this man was going with this.

"My name is Sean McDonough. I interviewed Mrs. Shreve in the hospital last week," he continued.

"What was she in for?" Jimmy asked when he paused, not liking where this was going.

"She had a miscarriage, and there were a lot of bruises on her body," Sean continued. "I didn't like the way she acted when her husband came in, and she flat out refused to implicate him in it. My boss didn't want me to pursue it because Daniel Shreve is an important psychologist here, and didn't want some giant mess to deal with. I couldn't get her expression out of my head, so I did some digging on my own. She's been in the hospital eight times in the last two years for similar injuries."

"Son of a bitch," Jimmy said softly, as Kenny wondered what the hell he was talking about. "How could she let him do that to her? The woman that worked for me for five years would have never let anyone hurt her like that."

"She was a cop?" Sean asked surprised.

"A damn good one," Jimmy said seething. "What else, are you going with kidnapping?"

"I have my doubts about that," Sean continued. "Some clothes were gone, her car, and her purse. I think she left him."

"What's your number? I've got to think about this," Jimmy replied, as he took down the information. "I'll get back to you."

Jimmy slammed down the phone, and couldn't believe what he was hearing. Turning back to Kenny, he filled him in.

**222222222222222222222**

Max breathed in the morning air as the bus stopped for gas at the North and South Carolina border. Snatching her purse off of the seat, she longed to stretch every muscle in her body. Sitting in one position for so long made everything feel numb. Wandering through the rest stop, Max stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the newspaper, and her own face staring back at her. Kidnapped? I wasn't kidnapped, she thought. Straightening her hat, Max wrapped her jacket more tightly around herself. Keeping her head tucked, she snatched a bottle of hair dye, some chocolate and some magazines for the rest of her trip. Grabbing a newspaper, she quickly paid for her purchases and clamored back on the bus. Sinking lower in her seat, she began to read.

"Asshole," she said softly, reading Danny's sob story. "How could you do this?"

According to him, he had been out at a party and when he came home he found their bedroom in shambles, a broken window and she, his beloved wife, was missing.

"Who is going to be dumb enough to believe that story?" Max said to the empty bus. "No way was I kidnapped."

Folding the paper in half, she knew why he had done it and she hoped it came back to bite him in the ass. Any cop with any sense at all would realize that he was making this all up, and she could already see the holes in the theory. As soon as their credit card statement came, they would see the charged flight to Paris, and Max knew that Danny had done all of this to get her picture out there. He wanted her found, and there was no way she was going to let that happen. Picking up the newspaper again, she gasped. Forgetting about Danny's hunt for her, Max began to read another story that would certainly rock his world and hers.

**222222222222222222222**

"He hit her," Kenny said in astonishment, after they read Sean's faxed reports. "How could she had let him do that to her?"

Jimmy shook his head. "I'm not sure, it's not something that Max would let happen. At least the Max that we knew."

"God, she was pregnant, and he still did. What the hell is wrong with him? I want him dead Jimmy. Why the hell didn't she say anything about it?"

"We both know how spouse abuse works," Jimmy said flatly, even though it chilled him to think of her going through this alone. "But if she finally left him, maybe she'll come back here for help."

The thought of Max being alone, hurt and scared enough to run for her life, made Kenny want to kill Danny. "We've got to find her Jimmy because she has been dealing with this by herself for way too long. Damn, how couldn't she tell anyone that he was hurting her? I knew I should have tried harder to keep in touch with her."

"She's tough, smart, and too stubborn to roll over and die," Jimmy said stoically, as he thought of the young woman whom he considered a second daughter. "Greenwich is calling it a kidnapping, and they're looking at Danny's patients. I want to check airline flights, train tickets, and I'm sure Danny will be too. He knows she left him, and I'm sure he's pissed about that."

"The passenger lists should be faxed over today," Kenny said wearily, glancing back at Max's picture in the paper. She looked different to him, and he knew it wasn't the longer hair, or the hue of it. She was smiling, but knowing her the way he did, he knew she wasn't happy when it was taken. Rereading the article he wished he had stopped her from leaving with Danny that day.

**222222222222222222222**

"Oh crap," Max said as the bus pulled away, and she tried to decide if this as a blessing or a curse. Staring at the headline, she yanked the piece of paper that she had written down her flight information on and saw the number 1226. Turning back to the article, she read the headline again, Flight 1226 from NYC to Paris, crashed en route. Max scanned the article and quickly saw that their were no survivors from it. "Oh crap, they're all going to think I'm dead."

Was that such a bad thing? The world thinks I've been kidnapped, although Danny knows I haven't been. If he thinks I'm dead, there is no way he can keep looking for me. I'll be free, safe. It's not like my parents will miss me, even though they've been treating me slightly better since I married Danny and have been living the high society life they want me to. Am I really giving up that much? Who is really going to miss me? I can start over, and be someone new.

Leaning back against the seat, Max began to plan.

**222222222222222222222**

"Dr. Shreve? This is Detective Connors," a voice said when Danny picked up the phone. "I'm afraid that we have some bad news for you regarding your wife."

"Have you found her?" Danny asked calmly.

"Apparently she boarded a flight for Paris yesterday afternoon," he began. "We just received word that there was a Maxine Stewart Shreve listed on the manifest for flight 1226, the one that crashed that night. Nothing has been confirmed, but there is a good chance that she was there."

"Why would my wife be flying to Paris? If someone kidnapped her they wouldn't take her there and she would have certainly made a fuss about it," Danny said rationally, as his rage seethed. "You have the wrong person."

"We certainly hope so Doctor," the detective said, chilled by the man's coldness. "We'll be in touch."

"That's what you get for leaving me Maxine," Danny spoke flatly to himself. "I told you I would kill you if you left me."

Kenny read her name on the manifest a dozen times before it started to sink in. Max, his Max, was gone. Shock flooded throughout him, and he wished that he had just one more day to make things right between them. She had known how he had felt about Danny, and it had driven a wedge between them. They still talked occasionally, but it wasn't the same.

"You could have come to me Max," he said quietly, clutching the paper in his hands. "I could have helped you with this."

"Kenny," Jimmy said quietly to his friend, not knowing what else to say because he felt as shell shocked as he did. "She got away from in the end."

"She didn't have to fly halfway around the world to do that," Kenny snapped. "She could have come here, Jimmy! I should have never let Danny drive me out of her life, none of us should. Max was our friend, and we all let her down."

"I know," Jimmy agreed, knowing that telling Jill would be devastating as well. "She could have come to us Kenny, she didn't have to stay. Danny drove her to run, he beat, hurt, and terrorized her, and in the end she beat him. He won't ever be able to hurt her again, and he'll have to live with the guilt of her death."

"That's not good enough," Kenny spat. "He should be in prison for the way he treated her, and he never will be. All of those medical reports? They protect their own in that community."

"We'll get him," Jimmy promised.

**222222222222222222222**

"I'm really going to be dead," Max said aloud, as she checked into a motel room for the night. Locking the door behind her, she tossed her scarce belongings onto the bed. Knowing that her money was going to run out soon, and she didn't want to use any of their credit cards in fear that Danny might realize that she was alive. "I've got to figure this whole thing out, but shower first. Sitting on that bus for two days . . . eew."

Snatching the hair dye from her purse as well, Max ducked into the bathroom. Letting the warm water caress her sore body, she made a mental list of things she needed to start over. A new identity for one, the whole works. The cop inside of her told her it was highly illegal, but Max decided that some situations call for drastic actions, legal or not.

"Oh, Kenny would love that one," she said aloud, as she continued her mental list, job, place to live, a damn good cover story. Stepping out of the shower, she wiped the fog away from the mirror and studied herself thoughtfully for a moment. I probably need some therapy too, she thought, although I'm not sure if that is the right course for me. I tend to sleep with my therapists. Sighing, she carefully began to lather her hair with the mixture, and promised herself that tomorrow she would set out to find the new person she was going to be.

**222222222222222222222**

Danny paced in his office, and snatched a picture of Maxine off of his desk. Glaring at it, he couldn't believe that she was actually gone.

"How dare you," he spat. "I was supposed to protect you, keep you safe from the world. This is what happens when you don't listen to me. You left me alone Maxine by going off like that. I'm sure those lowlifes you seem so attached to in Wisconsin had something to do with it. I'll make them pay too, and you're still my wife."

He leaned back in his chair and stared at her face as his anger rose.

**222222222222222222222**

"Thank you," Max said as she handed the well dressed young man the diamond tennis bracelet that Danny had given her after he had thrown her down the stairs.

"Let me explain this to you," he said. "This is your passport, birth certificate, drivers license, credit card and social security card. This is top of the line stuff lady, no one should ever question it. I don't care what you're planning on doing with it, but never mention where you go it."

"Not a problem," Max agreed. "You saved my life with this."

He studied the bruising on her neck before responding. "You're running away from someone?"

"As far as I can get," Max said with a nod, clutching her new life in her hands.

"Good luck," he said before sinking back into the shadows.

Max slid the information into her purse, and slipped into the coffee shop on the corner. Ordering a small breakfast, she pulled out the passport to study her new life. He had taken her pictures from her documents and slid them into these. Abigail Quinn, from Los Angeles California.

"Abigail, Abby," Max said softly, sliding it back into her purse. "I'm a California girl, although I'm not a blond any more."

Eyeing her reflection in the window, she had to admit that her new hair color and cut drastically affected the way she looked. The deep, dark, auburn set off her pale skin, and after having several inches hacked off the back, it now just skimmed her collarbone. She didn't look like Danny's perfect blonde wife anymore, and not like the young deputy she used to be either. A pair of black frame glasses completed her new look. I guess this is what Abby looks like, Max thought wryly, at least for now. Flipping through the cash in her wallet, Max knew she had to get a job soon because there was no way she was going back. She'd starve first. As badly as she felt about all of those people dying in the plane crash, she couldn't help but feel like it was a blessing for her somewhat. There was no way Danny would spend the rest of his life searching for a dead woman. Smiling to herself, she sipped her coffee. I'm free.

**222222222222222222222**

"Max, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," Kenny said to himself as he carefully stayed away from Danny at her funeral a few days later. He knew that this wasn't the time or the place to get into it with the man, even though it disgusted him to think of Danny ever laying a hand on her. The good doctor was surrounded by family and friends, and as far as Kenny was concerned he was putting on a fabulous show of being devastated by his wife's passing. "There was so much I wanted to tell you."

Jimmy and Jill came up behind him, and he could tell by Jimmy's expression that he was as disgusted by Danny's behavior as he was. "We should probably get out of here, the last thing I want to do is cause a scene at Max's funeral. I'm not sure she would appreciate it."

"Yeah," Kenny agreed. "He makes me sick though."

It weighed heavily on all three of their minds that they hadn't know what was happening to her over the last two years, and as they made there way back to their car they didn't realize that Danny was watching with hatred in his eyes.


	3. Roots

-1Max tilted her face towards the sun, and let the warm rays caress her face. The storms of the previous few weeks had made her crave the sunlight even more, and after being cooped up inside for days she was happy to have this time to enjoy it. A year, she thought, has it really been that long?

"Abby, are you out here?" a voice called breaking Max out of her reverie. "Abby?"

"I'm here," Max called. "Give me a second, Sam."

"Hey there," he called, as she walked back into the restaurant. "I thought I saw you sneak out the back a few minutes ago."

Max shrugged. "I wanted to make sure the sun was still there after all the rain that we had lately."

"Welcome to Seattle," Sam said with a smile. "I heard showers next week too."

Max groaned and thought the piles of snow she had dealt with in New England and Wisconsin were better then the torrential down pours of Seattle.

"I guess it never rains in Southern California," Sam continued.

"What? Oh right," Max replied. "Lots of earthquakes though."

"Hey," he said casually. "I know that you're out of here after you finish the inventory and don't have to tend bar tonight... Do you want to catch a movie or something Abby?"

"I, oh," Max faltered thinking about how her co-worker had been flirting with her since she had settled in Seattle nine months ago. He hadn't been pushy about it, but Max knew when a guy was interested in her. "Sam, I'm flattered really ."

"Hey no big deal," he replied throwing his hands up. "If you don't want to, I'm fine with that. You just look like you need a night out. We'll keep it casual, just friends."

Max smiled at the handsome assistant manager of The Red Baron Inn restaurant, and she knew he was a sweet guy. And cute, nice, handsome, and that his intentions were all above board. "Okay, you're right. I haven't had a night out in awhile."

"How about if I pick you up at seven? I mean casual too Abby, nothing fancy," Sam said with a wide grin, surprised that she agreed. There was something mysterious about her that drew Sam to her. "Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Max replied meaning it. I will have a good time, she told herself, I think I've earned one.

**333333333333333333333**

Kenny still couldn't shake the loss of Max out of his mind, and it was her face he saw every time he went to sleep. Guilt was part of it he knew, and the minute he thought something was wrong with her, he should have flown out there. Even though their friendship had floundered over the last few years he knew she was out there somewhere. Now, he just had an empty void in his life where she should be.

"I should have told her," he said aloud to him empty apartment. "Damn it Max, it was always you. I thought that we would get together eventually... I loved you. So much it scared me sometimes."

The ringing phone caused him to jump. "Hello?"

Hearing nothing but silence on the other end for the fourth time that week, Kenny tossed it onto the couch and lapsed back into his thoughts.

**333333333333333333333**

"Am I really going out on a date?" Max asked out loud to her empty apartment. "I haven't done this in years."

Flopping down on her simple yellow sofa Max contemplated the last two years of her life. After receiving her new, okay fake identification, she zigzagged across the country before settling in Seattle. Pawning her jewels all the way, she thought with a wry smile. Finding this apartment was a blessing, it was clean and located in a decent neighborhood down by the harbor. The bartending job at the Red Baron Inn was more of fluke then anything else, and she felt incredibly grateful to Sam for giving it to her. She wandered in there, wearing nothing but faded jeans and a hooded sweater, and looking for a place to put her feet up and have a beer after handing in resumes everywhere.

_"You look tired," he said with a warm smile, handing her a beer. "Long day?"_

"_I haven't been this exhausted in awhile," Max agreed. "I was job hunting."_

"_Really? What for?"_

"_Something to get myself on my feet again," Max said vaguely._

"_Ever tended bar before?"_

"_In college," Max answered truthfully. "Why? Are you hiring?"_

_"My bartender quit last night, and I have a big party coming in tonight. You seem trustworthy enough. Can you make me a martini?"_

_Max shot him a look, as she made her way around the bar. "You bet I can."_

"And it pays well," Max said to herself. "I never thought I'd be tending bar at age 32 though."

A huge part of her was relieved that her new identity had held up so well. Apparently Abby Quinn had great credit, and nothing in her background to raise red flags. And she made one hell of a martini. Rummaging through her closet for a pair of shoes thought that life may not have been exactly perfect at this point, but things were looking up. She ducked into a group counseling center every Wednesday to talk about her tale anonymously, and despite the fact that she was still terrified of Danny, she wasn't going to let it effect her new life it she could help it.

"I'm going on a date damn it. If that isn't moving on, I don't know what is," she said aloud studying her reflection in the mirror. I'm glad he said casual because my wardrobes a little scarce Max thought picturing her closet back in Greenwich. Surveying her knee length violet sun dress and strappy sandals she hoped she pulled of Seattle casual okay as the doorbell rang.

**333333333333333333333**

"He's still completely devastated," Jimmy told Jill that same night. "It's been a year, and it still hurts, but Kenny has to move on from it."

"He feels guilty for not being able to help her," Jill said. "And Jimmy, you had to have known how he felt about her. He was crazy about her, and I always thought she felt the same way, at least until she married Danny. Not to have been able to tell her how he had felt, that has to be eating Kenny up inside."

"We can't even get him on the abuse charges," Jimmy said frustrated, wanting to be able to do something for Max even after her death. "It's out of our jurisdiction, and Greenwich isn't cooperating. Why did she have to get on that plane Jill? She had people who cared about her here. We could have helped."

"I don't know," Jill said quietly. "She kind of drifted away from all of us, probably not on her own free will, but she did. Maybe she felt like she couldn't come back."

Jimmy nodded reluctantly. "What about Kenny then?"

"He'll work through it," Jill said patiently. "We all will. He isn't the only one who is feeling guilty about this Jimmy."

**333333333333333333333**

"Oh my god," Max gasped as Sam finished his story. "I haven't laughed that hard in years!"

"I've got a million of them," he said as they walked along the pier. He glanced through the darkness at her, and wanted to make her laugh again. When he had first met her the first thing he noticed was how defeated she had looked, and how she hadn't seemed to have had a good time in awhile. "I think that is the first time I've ever seen you crack up like that."

She shot him a sideways look, and was a little afraid that he might be a little to perceptive for her own good. "Well you're funny, Sam."

He wasn't sure how to approach this woman, and there was something about her that made him want to know everything abut her. "Tell me about yourself Abby. We've worked together for four months, and all I know is that you grew up in L.A. and moved here from Chicago. And you make great drinks."

"I'm really kind of boring," Max insisted. "I told you about my family dying and I realized that I wasn't happy where I was in my life. So I just packed up and moved."

"Yeah, but I want to know more," he pleaded. "Come on, indulge me here a bit. Here is something about me, and it's really embarrassing. I have an addiction to Scooby Doo cartoons."

Max smiled despite his prying. "That's not too bad. Okay, I once dated a midget."

"Really?"

Max tried not to grimace as she revealed something about her previous life. "I wouldn't make it up."

She tried not to tremble as he reached out to take her hand. Linking her fingers through his, Max couldn't help but feel a tingle of excitement to have physical contact with a man again. Smiling up at him, they continued their way down the pier.

**333333333333333333333**

"This guy has some nerve," Kenny spat, slamming the newspaper down on Jimmy's desk a six months later, "Did you read this?"

Jimmy knew this was coming after he read the announcement of Danny donation to Thayer hospital in Max's name. "Well it's going to provide a lot of care for people who need it."

"He can't buy forgiveness like that," Kenny continued. "And he's coming here for his donation and to receive the applause for being such an important and generous person. He killed her Jimmy! She wouldn't have been on that plane if it wasn't for him!"

"Have a seat," Jimmy said closing his office door. "I know losing Max like this hurts like hell. I know because she was like a daughter to me. And it's awful that Danny is still free on the streets out there, but he'll slip up sometime and then we'll nail his ass to the wall. Kenny you need to move on because Max wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this. You've got to let her go."

Kenny stared up at the man who had been a mentor to him and saw the look of compassion in his eyes. "I can't."

"You've got to try," Jimmy said. "Take a few days off, go on vacation."

"Not while he is here," Kenny said evenly. "I want to talk to him."

Jimmy regarded the younger man for a second and knew that if Kenny go anywhere near Danny it would result in disaster. "You lay a hand on him Kenny, I'll have your badge. You have every right to be angry at him, and I'd like to slug him too, but I won't have it my town."

"I won't touch him," Kenny promised. "But Jimmy, can't we do something?"

"Jill," a voice called from down the hospital corridor. "Jill, wait up!"

Jill turned reluctantly towards the voice and forced herself to put on a smile when she saw Danny coming toward her. "Danny Shreve, I heard you were coming back to donate to are hospital here."

He nodded sadly. "I know Maxine would have liked that, she always had a special place for Rome in her heart. I wanted to talk to you at her funeral, but I wasn't up to it."

I bet, Jill thought. "It was a tough day for us all. Has anyone figured out why she was on her way to Paris? I first read that it was a kidnapping, then the plane crash... what happened Danny?"

"I don't know. The police don't think that she went of her own free will, and she had no reason to be on that flight," he sighed. "I'll never know, and it seems so pointless."

"She was so young," Jill agreed. "She didn't deserve to die like that."

"I loved her," Danny said quietly.

"Right," Jill said her voice dropping an octave in disgust for the man. "I'm sure you did. Every man who loves his wife shows it by beating her Danny. We've all seen her medical charts from the past few years, and don't think that you can come here and smooth it all over like this. She left you in the end."

"I never hit her," Danny said evenly. "I don't know what she told you."

"She didn't have to," Jill spat,. "Her silence said enough. Get out of here, we don't want you in this town."

"Oh they're beautiful," Max said as Sam handed her the bouquet of wild flowers. "You didn't have to bring me anything."

"I know," he said with a smile. "I just wanted to."

Six months with him, she thought, and he's been so patient with me. Some wounds were still too raw to be completely honest with, and Max knew she could never tell him anything.

"Well you're sweet," she said reaching behind the bar for a vase. "Thanks."

"How about taking a break after the lunch crowd dies down? I know a great café a few blocks over."

"Sounds like a plan," Max agreed happily, pressing her lips to his. "An hour then?"

Sam smiled and squeezed her hand, as he sauntered back to the front of the Red Baron.

**333333333333333333333**

"You were alone with him," Jimmy sputtered frustrated. "Jill!"

"It's not something I planned to do! He just showed up," Jill said, as Carter and Kenny joined them. "He was so full of himself. It makes me sick that he's getting away with this."

"You're not the only one," Kenny replied lowly, nodding to the man on stage. "Bastard. How can he just come back here like this?"

He caught Jimmy's warning look, and clamped down on his anger. Eyeing Danny up on stage smiling into the cameras, Kenny decided that it was a good thing that he had left his gun at home. Danny turned his smile to crowd and Kenny locked eyes with him. Danny let his grin widen as Kenny glowered at him, and he knew that he had the young deputy all riled up. Shaking hands with the head of the hospital, he made his way down towards them.

"It is certainly good to see all of you again," Danny said with a pleasant smile. "I know Maxine would have appreciated it. She considered all of you her friends."

"What did she consider you?" Kenny asked lowly, using all his strength not to hit the man. "From what I heard lately all Max wanted to do was get away from you."

"If that's what you want to think, that is fine with me," Danny said smoothly. "She was quite distraught over the loss of our child, and that could have caused her to act irrationally. We'll never know why she was on that flight, and I will spend the rest of my life wondering what I could have done to keep her by my side. She was a remarkable woman."

"We know why she was on that plane," Kenny shot back. "Don't try to dress it up with pretty words. Your whole kidnapping story was nothing but crap."

"I'm learning to move past my wife's passing," Danny said smoothly. "For your sake I hope you do so as well. Excuse me, there are people that I have to talk to."

*****SIX MONTHS LATER*****

"I really want you to meet them Abby," Sam lamented as they stood in her apartment. "What else do you have planned for Christmas anyway?"

"It just seems so fast," Max replied lamely, the idea of meeting his parents terrified her, "Sam, we've only been for…a year? It's really been a year? I don't want to rush things.

"Rush things? We've been moving as slow as a Cadillac in Florida," Sam replied trying not to get frustrated with her. "Abby you're the most wonderful woman I've ever met, but you've got this whole stubborn commitment phobic thing going on."

Some things don't change, Max thought to herself, no matter who you are. "I know, I know. Sam, you've been wonderful to me, and I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with at times... there are things you don't understand about me."

"So tell me," he cried throwing his hands up. "I've told you everything about myself, but sometimes I feel like you just appeared here from nowhere. Like Abigail Quinn was born the day she walked into the Red Baron."

Max took a step back at his passion and her heart was heavy for all he had to put up with. "Sam... I don't know what to tell you."

"Be honest," he said evenly. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. Abby, I'm in love with you."

"I love you too," Max said softly. He makes me happy, she thought, he's sweet, kind, and he doesn't know a thing about me. The real me…No, I'm Abby now. I need to be Abby.

He looked at the trembling red head in front of him, and wondered what he had said wrong to cause such a adverse reaction. "Honey, please... sometimes you just seem so far away. Who hurt you?"

Max shook her head and struggled to respond. "Please don't make me Sam. There is so much you don't understand, and I've made so many bad decisions in the last few years. I'm just starting to repair the damage now, I really don't want to go back to that place. Please don't ask me too."

"I want to help you," he said hoarsely. "Sometimes I'll catch you lost in thought Abby, and you look . . . like you're lost."

"I'm not lost," she insisted forcing herself to smile at him. "Do you know how much better you make my life Sam? You make me happy. Why can't that be enough for now?"

"For now," he agreed, not wanting to push the issue. "So how about Christmas? I know it's four weeks off..."

"Okay," Max caved. "I'd love to meet your family."

Sam grinned, and kissed her softly as Max tried to bury her feelings of panic about getting to deeply involved with this man. All I do is lie to him, she thought, he doesn't love me, he doesn't even know me! He knows this Abby person that I bought off the street in North Carolina, and I'm still not sure who she is exactly.

**333333333333333333333**

"You're kidding," Kenny said. "They want us to go?"

"It's a seminar," Jimmy dead panned. "Strange Happenings in Small Towns or something like that."

"Strange doesn't cover it," Kenny replied, "Rome is way beyond that."

"It's an honor to be invited," Jimmy replied. "We're going two weeks from now, and it's only for four days."

"Why not?" Kenny agreed, thinking he had never been Seattle. "What other town could possibly have had as much odd stuff that we've seen?"

"It's not just about that, it's a whole police convention covering a lot of pertinent topics," Jimmy replied. "It's to promote universal standards across the country."

"Sounds good," Kenny agreed casually. "Count me in."

TBC


	4. Colliding

-1"You smell good," Sam said burying his face in Max's hair. "Like honey."

"More like beer," she said with a smile, feeling Sam's arms come around her waist. "I think the smell from behind the bar permeates everything that I wear."

"Beer? Honey? Same thing," he replied kissing her neck. "I like it."

He tightened his arms around her waist, and Max leaned up against him. Closing her eyes, she felt his lips move slowly up her neck toward her mouth. She turned to face him, as his mouth found hers, and she let herself relax in his arms. Tilting her head back to deepen the kiss, Max tried to bury the thoughts rushing through her head.

"What are you thinking?" Sam asked hoarsely pulling away slightly, noting her distraction. "Abby?"

Max looked up at him surprised at his insight because she had thought that he was pretty well invested in necking with her. "Nothing, really. It's been a long day Sam, you know that."

He regarded her for a moment, and absently ran his fingers through her burgundy hair. There was something he caught in her eyes sometimes when he was with her, a distant, far off expression, that she didn't want anyone to see. Sam hated the way she sometimes jumped when he touched her, although she had relaxed with him in the last few months and let him love her. Still, he thought, sometimes she looks so wounded.

"What?" Max asked as he looked at her, and part of her feared that he could see right through her, and that he would discover what a truly horrid person she was. Someone who was beaten within an inch of her life, and when she fled from it she let everyone down. I let them think she was dead. I'm not her anymore, Max thought wildly, I'm not. "Sam?"

"I want to know," he said quietly, "I'm taking you to meet my parents in a few weeks, and I'd like them to know something about you."

"Who am I?" Max asked, struggling to keep her voice light. "I'm not all that mysterious Sam, and by the way where are we going to visit your parents anyway? Talk about not sharing information."

"Don't change the subject," he replied, not letting her out of his arms. "And they live in Wisconsin. Green Bay."

I'm going to be sick, Max thought, as the edges of her world blurred. Out of all 50 states Sam's parents have to live in Wisconsin? What am I cursed? I certainly cannot go there anymore then I can saunter through Connecticut.

"Not mysterious? This is what I'm talking about Abby! You look like you're going to pass out," Sam cried. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Don't!" Max snapped back. "I'm fine! If you're so in love with me, why can't you just let it be! If you're in love with me how can you say you don't know me?"

"Because I don't! What the hell are you running from? What are you so afraid of?"

"Just leave me alone," Max begged, tearing herself free of his grasp. "There is nothing else to tell, and if you don't believe me, maybe you should just go!"

"Bullshit," Sam said, calmer now, as he spun her back around. "You're the most amazing woman I have ever met, Abby, and I know whatever it is you're not telling me can't be that bad. I just want you to be happy, and you look so sad sometimes. Let me help you."

Max collapsed onto the couch as Sam gazed down at her. "You can't. Please just drop it. I'm begging you."

"Abby."

Max tried not to shake at the harshness of his tone, and she knew she wasn't being fair to him. He wants me to be happy, she thought, looking at him quickly. I can't keep lying to him like this. He loves, I know he does, and I think I love him too.

"Abby," he said again in her silence. "I fell in love with you the day you walked into the Red Baron, but I can't ignore it... you say things in your sleep sometime."

"What kind of things?" Max asked quietly.

"Someone named Danny," he began as Max recoiled away. "Telling him to stop."

Max shook her head and tried to regain her composure. "Have you ever just wanted to start over? There are so many bad memories where I come from. Danny hurt me very badly, and one reason I moved out here was to get away from him. Please, Sam, don't make me relive that experience, I've done the counseling thing, and I just want to move on from it."

"He hurt you?" Sam repeated wondering what she meant by that statement.

Max nodded reluctantly. "Yeah... he hit me for years, and I knew that I had to get away from him."

"Oh Abby," he said softly, feeling his heart break for the woman who sat beside him. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that."

"I know," she agreed. "And I have moved on from it, and maybe someday I will want to talk about it, but not just yet."

Sam nodded as she leaned into him, and they lapsed into silence.

**444444444444444**

"You're beautiful," Danny said smoothly as he caressed her cheek. "I haven't felt this way about anyone since my wide died."

"You're sweet," Amanda Morris said lowering her head. "I was so sorry to hear about her death Danny, but it's nice to see you out again."

Danny sighed. "It's been over a year, and sometimes I can't believe she is really gone. I know Maxine wouldn't want me to mourn her forever, but it is hard some days."

Amanda nodded, and took his hand is hers. Danny looked up at the 23 year old blond socialite and smiled slowly. Her green eyes lowered as he gazed at her, and Danny knew he could mold her into the perfect wife.

"Let's go upstairs," he said smiling. "I don't believe that I have given you a proper tour of my home."

"Hello," Kenny said grabbing the phone off of the receiver. "Hello?"

**444444444444444**

Hearing the dial tone buzzing in his ear Kenny tossed the phone back onto the couch and figured they would call back when they wanted too. Probably a telemarketer anyway he thought tossing his bag over by the phone. He grabbed a beer out of fridge, and paused again to look at the picture of him and Max taken so many years ago. God, we look so young, Kenny thought.

"I still miss you," he said aloud to his empty apartment, although the pain had lessened in the past few months. "Everyone says I have to let you go, and I'm trying Max, really. I wish you came to me instead of getting on that plane, I would have kicked his ass for you, unless you wanted to do it yourself. I'm so proud of you for leaving him in the end."

Kenny lapsed into silence, as he went to pack for his and Jimmy's trip to Seattle.

**444444444444444**

"Amanda," Danny breathed pulling away from the young woman. "You make me feel alive again. Stay with me."

She nodded slowly, and felt her heart pound in her chest. "Oh Danny, I didn't know it could be like this."

"You're going to be perfect," he whispered. "You want to be, don't you?"

She nodded again, to caught up in the pleasure she was feeling. "Oh yes!"

Danny smiled to himself as he discovered her young and taught body. So pretty he thought, she will be the most ideal wife. So obedient and dutiful. Mine.

**444444444444444**

"I can't believe that he would get married again so soon," Jill said examining the society page of the New York Times. "That poor girl, I doubt she knows what she is in for with him."

Jimmy couldn't stomach to look at the picture of the young blond woman sitting beside Danny in the engagement announcement picture. "It says that she is the heir to some department store owner."

"I doubt he is after her money," Jill replied doubtfully. "He is rich enough on his own, and well, she kind of looks like Max. Remember that picture of her in the paper after she disappeared?"

Jimmy nodded and turned back to the article. "It eats at me that we can't toss his ass in jail. He is responsible for killing her, and he's going to hurt this girl the same way. She's barely older then Kimberly."

"After you get back from Seattle, why don't we fly up to Connecticut for a few days?" Jill asked. "She should know what she is getting into at least."

Jimmy nodded slowly. "I think Max would have liked that, and if she had her way I'm sure Danny would be in prison now."

**444444444444444**

"Here is a tip for you beautiful," a guest said with a wide grin handing Max ten dollars. "Why don't you go buy yourself something nice?"

Drunk, Max thought, as she plastered a smile on her face. "Thank you sir. I'm sure we'll see you back here soon."

She watched as he sauntered out, and nearly fell into the potted plant by the door. Glancing around at the shrinking lunch crowd, she leaned up against the bar and was glad to get her weight off of her feet. Catching sight of her reflection in the glass behind the bar, Max vowed to eat more because she felt very bony. After her death food had lost some off it's importance as she focused on starting over. Smoothing back the fly away of her burgundy hair, she saw Sam come up behind her.

"You look tired," he said in way of greeting. "We have a big crowd coming in for a convention, and they have a reception here tonight."

"So I hear," Max replied grinning at him. "It'll be prime tip night. Who are they?"

"Some national police convention," Sam replied, as he surveyed the patrons. "I never understood what sort of person would want to be a cop anyway. Maybe some power hungry, macho men."

Max tried not to laugh at his observation, oh if he could have known me a few years ago, she thought. "I don't know. They do a lot of good in the world Sam, they keep people safe."

"They didn't keep you very safe," he said lowly.

"I didn't keep myself safe," Max replied. "I could have left anytime, and it wasn't up to them. I had to make that choice."

"How could someone have not known Abby?" Sam pressed, turning back to her.

Max sighed. "I didn't let anyone know, I didn't want them too. It's a shitty situation, Sam, and one that I didn't want to broadcast to the entire world."

"They still should have helped you," he insisted.

"They would have if I had let them know," Max said distantly, her thoughts drifting back to Kenny and Jimmy, and she knew they would have bent over backwards to help her put her life back together. "But it's the past, and I see some customers who need drinks."

"Okay," he agreed, not wanting to push the issue. "I've got paperwork to do in the back."

**444444444444444**

"How about getting something to eat?" Kenny asked, as he and Jimmy crossed the lobby of their hotel. "The airplane food was awful."

"How about there?" Jimmy replied, his own stomach rumbling also. "I think that is where they're having the party tonight, but I can't wait until then."

Checking out the rustic interior of the hotel as they made their way to the restaurant, and were surprised to find it nearly empty. From the smell of things Kenny thought that it would be absolutely packed. Eyeing the unmanned bar he longed for a beer after their long journey that morning. Stifling a yawn, he let the hostess lead them to a table.

"My name is Dawn, and if you would like something to drink I'll take your order," the blond said with a pleasant smile. "I'm sure our bartender will be back in a few minutes, she probably ran off to rest her feet after the lunch crowd left."

"We can wait," Jimmy said. "I'll take a beer, whatever is on tap."

"Yeah, me too," Kenny said, as she jotted down their order and left.

"Nice place," Jimmy commented, "Good view."

"Yup," Kenny agreed, as a shudder went through him. "I just got the oddest feeling... Like deja vu, but that isn't quite it."

Jimmy shrugged. "To much time on a plane."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I'm going to run to the bathroom, wherever it is."

Kenny wandered towards the back, and felt relieved when he saw a sign pointing towards the restroom. The hall is kind of dark, he thought, thinking like cop. Pausing at a woman's muffled swears from a closed door, he forgot about his trip to the bathroom.

"Son of a bitch," a voice said softly from behind the door, followed by a thud. "Crap."

Kenny knocked softly, not wanting to startle her. "Miss? Are you okay in there?"

"What? Yeah," she called back, grabbing the box of paper cups again and. "Fine. Just some boxes."

Kenny gave pause listening to her voice, and shook his head. For a minute her curt answer sounded familiar to him. "Well if you're sure."

"Yeah," she said again, precariously balancing the two boxes on top of each other.

Kenny shook his head again, as the door jerked open and a petite woman came out from behind them, carrying two large boxes. He reached out to steady them, but a few seconds too late as everything came crashing to the ground.

"Shit," she said again, bending over to straighten her fallen cargo, as her hair fell in her face. "This has not been a good day, and it's only two."

"We've all had days like that," Kenny said amicably, bending down to help her, and he tossed some cups into the box. "Maybe you stick with one box from now on."

"Maybe," she agreed distractedly reaching for another pile. "Hey thanks for your help by the way. There's going to be a big party here tonight that everyone is stressing out about, and I think it's spilling over to me."

Kenny looked at her bent head, and was struck with that strange sensation of deja vu again. "I though parties were supposed to be fun."

"Well, if you aren't working at it," she said looking up at him with a smile before faltering.

All Kenny could do was stare, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Emotions raced through him and he didn't quite comprehend what was going on. Shock, he thought, I'm in shock. This isn't real, she isn't real.

She knelt there trembling in front of him the shock clear on her face to, mixed with fear as well. This can't be happening, how can this be happening, Max's thoughts raced as she stared at Kenny. What is he doing here? How does he know that I'm alive? Oh god, if he knows Danny could know. Shit. Shit.

Thank you, Kenny thought irrationally, as he looked at Max. Whatever did this, who ever gave her back to me, I'm indebted to you forever. He reached out slowly to touch her, to make sure he wasn't hallucinating the whole thing. His hand rested on her cheek, and she sat there shaking in front of him. Carefully she laid her hand over his, and despite Max's terror of being found, she couldn't help but feel like part of her life was complete again.

"Max," he finally choked out. "Max."

She nodded slightly, trying to find the right words to say to him. "Kenny... oh god Kenny."

"I thought you were dead," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, as another person gasped behind them.

"Max," Jimmy sputtered, looking at his former deputy sitting on the floor in the disarray of paper cups, and the shocked expressions on her and Kenny's faces. "What the hell?"

Max couldn't think of anything to say as she looked at the two men who had been like family to her until she had cut them out of her life when she had married Danny, then faked her death, so all she could get out was. "Yeah... uh... not so dead."

"Where have you been?" Kenny asked longing to pull her into his arms and hold her until she stopped shaking. "I can't believe this... Max... I never thought I'd see you again."

Jimmy crouched down next to them. "None of us did. What the hell are you doing in Seattle?"

"I," Max faltered looking at nothing but the concern on their two faces and she clamped down on the tears she wanted to spill. "I don't know anymore."

"Abby? You still back here?" Sam called rounding the corner and pausing when he saw her sitting on the floor in a pile of cups with two strange men. "Uh, what is going on back here?"

"Sam," Max cried, half grateful from saving her from this awkward situation and half terrified that it was going to get a whole lot worse now. "I just dropped these and these customers were helping me pick them all up."

"Yeah," Kenny added, tossing a handful back in at Max's desperate look. "We bumped into her as she bringing them out that door, and figured we should at least help her clean up."

They tossed the last few in as Sam moved in to help. "Abby, there are people that need some drinks."

"All right," she replied, wanting to flee from the three men watching her. "I'm going, thanks for your help. I think we should send them a free bottle of champagne to their room Sam. What is your room number?"

"Ah, 308," Kenny replied, still a little dazed by his back from the dead best friend. "You don't have to do that."

"I owe you more then free liquor," Max blurted out. "I would have been picking these up all afternoon. Thanks."

Max did her best to avoid eye contact with them as they ate, and now standing outside room 308 she wanted to flee back to her apartment and never come out again. At least Sam was to wrapped up in party plans to notice my distraction, she thought wryly, and accepted my excuse of the stomach flu. Raising her hand, she knocked softly. Trying to control her raging emotions as the door opened, Max promised herself that she wouldn't fall apart with them.

"Hi," she said softly facing Kenny for the second time that day, and saw Jimmy come up behind him. "Can I come in?"

TBC


	5. Conversations

-1Still somewhat numb by their first encounter earlier all Kenny could do was look at her, and try to absorb the fact that it was Max standing there in front of him. Thinner, with darker hair and a tired look in her blue eyes, but it was still her. Impulsively he reached out and yanked her into his arms. Wrapping her securely against him he felt her stiff body gradually relax in his grasp, as she leaned into him and looped her arms around his back.

Max tried not to tremble as she held onto him, and everything that she kept bottled up inside her for the last few years came flooding out. The tears she had never cried over Danny's years of abuse, the loss of her child and her fears about everything came pouring out of her as she clung to Kenny like a lifeline. She buried her head in his chest and began to sob.

Jimmy closed the door behind them softly, and caught Kenny's eye as he held her. Gesturing toward the couch, he had no idea what to do about his former deputy, who he had thought was dead, who was crying her eyes out.

"Max, hey, Max," Kenny said finally, his arms stiff, but he was reluctant to let her go as well. "It's going to be all right. Whatever it is . . . Do you know how happy I am to see you? I thought I'd never see you again."

"I thought that you Catholics believed in the whole afterlife concept," Max whispered, lifting her head to look at him. He reached up slowly to wipe her tears away, and still couldn't believe the red, tear stained face that he was looking at.

"You know what I mean," he replied. "God Max . . . I thought you were dead . . . where the hell have you been for the past year?"

She shook her head, as he led her over to the couch. Sandwiched firmly between the two men who been like family to her, she tried to form the words to make them understand.

"Max, let us help you," Jimmy said calmly, and he was overjoyed that the woman he thought of like a second daughter was alive. "Are you okay? Did you know that the world thought you were dead?"

"That guy downstairs," Kenny said slowly. "He was calling you Abby . . . You weren't on that plane, were you?"

Max shook her head again as they continued to watch her. "I don't know where to start. It's gotten so complicated, and it seemed like such a good idea in the beginning. Now . . . I don't know what I'm doing any more."

"Start from the beginning," Jimmy prodded her, fascinated not only by the fact that he was sitting here talking to her, but wanting to know what exactly had happened.

"I wasn't planning on this," she started softly looking back and forth between the two of them. "I was going to get a divorce, and move on from him. I knew he wouldn't let me go easily, so I left when he was at a party one night."

Kenny watched as she paused and he could see her struggling with what to say, to tell them everything. "We talked to an Officer McDonough after you disappeared. He told us about your miscarriage, and what he thought happened."

Max's head snapped up, and shame flooded through her. They know, how can they know that? Kenny and Jimmy are the last two people that I want to know that Danny hurt me like that.

"It's okay," Jimmy said softly, seeing the torment in her eyes. "Max. He won't ever hurt you again."

"You don't know that, if you two found me out here, he could too," Max replied hoarsely. "I can't see him again . . . he hit me . . . for so long . . . I don't know why I stayed with him. After I lost the baby . . . I knew I had to leave, he was going to kill me eventually."

Kenny couldn't stand the pain he saw chasing across his friend's face and he wanted to shoot the bastard for putting it there. "Max . . . I don't what to say."

She just looked at him for a moment before responding. "Neither do I . . . Being dead wasn't something I planned on, it just happened. I was going to fly to Paris, but decided to get off the plane. Letting Danny think I went, but when I read about the plane crash it just seemed like an easier answer to the whole thing. He wouldn't spend his life chasing a dead woman."

Max tried to block the memories of the pain that Danny had caused her, and an involuntary shudder ran through her, and tired to bury the panic seeing her two friends caused her. Dropping her eyes to the ground, she didn't want to see their condemnation of her.

"What about everyone else?" Kenny asked gently, trying not to push her too much. "Your family? Friends?"

Max shook her head and replied quietly. "My parents? I doubted that they would care. We parted on such bad terms Kenny . . . and we drifted apart afterward . . . my fault. It wouldn't have been fair of me to come to you with my mess of a life."

"You were never one to run away," Jimmy interjected, not liking the defeated look on her face. "You're not letting him get away with this Max. Don't let him win. He is just going to do it again. Did you know he's getting married again?"

"That was fast," Max retorted, before sighing. "He is?"

"She's only 23," Kenny added, trying to mask his disdain. "She deserves to know what she is getting herself into."

Max saw where they were going with this and shook her head. " I can't, please don't make me go back there. He'll kill me, he promised me he would if I ever left him."

"Come home," Kenny prodded, not willing to let her go again. "Don't let him win."

Max shook her head again. "You don't understand."

Kenny and Jimmy exchanged a look over her head, and both made a silent vow to drag her back kicking and screaming if they had too.

**555555555555555**

"I thought Abby went home sick," Dawn, one of the waitresses, called to Sam as they set up for the banquet.

"She did," Sam replied, as they lined one of the long tabled with glasses. "She looked really terrible when she left."

"Really? I thought I saw her car out back," Dawn said pointing toward the rear exit.

"She was running a bottle of champagne upstairs to those people who helped her pick up, but she should be gone by now," Sam mused. "What was it? Room 308? Maybe I'll a run up there myself. She probably started chatting with them."

"Well if she is sick enough not to work tonight," Dawn trailed off shrugging her shoulders.

"I'll go check it out," Sam replied, "I'll be back in a few."

"I've thought about you every day since I thought you died," Kenny said changing his tactic. "And when I found out that Danny had been abusing you Max . . . I always thought I could have done more for you."

"I didn't want you to know," she replied, her throat raw from sobbing "I never wanted you, either of you to think of me like that."

"It wasn't your fault," Jimmy said gently.

Max nodded slightly. "I ….Jimmy, I know. I know."

"We couldn't help you then," Kenny began. "Let us help you now. You can't hide forever."

Max nodded slightly, listening as Jimmy picked up. "The Max that I knew would have never backed down against something like this."

"I'm not her anymore," Max blurted out, not able to stop herself. "These past few years . . . I'm not sure who I am anymore. I lost myself after I married Danny."

All three jumped when a knock came from the door because of their passionate focus on the conversation. All three exchanging a quick glance, Jimmy rose to answer it gesturing to her. "You probably know a lot of the employees here and I take it you don't want to have to explain this all now."

"I'll be in the bathroom," Max agreed, rising shakily to her feet and grabbing her purse. "Thanks."

Kenny watched her go, and just before she closed the door she turned to look at him one more time. I won't let him do this to her, he vowed looking at the terrified expression on her face. He smiled at her, and she nodded before she shut and locked the door. Rising to his feet he was surprised to see the same man that was in the bar in earlier.

"I don't mean to bother you," he began, as Kenny joined them. "But I know that Abby wasn't feeling very well, and that she was going home after she dropped off your bottle of champagne. Her car is still in the lot, and, well, I was wondering if she was still up here."

"No," Jimmy said quickly. "You just missed her. She looked kind of ill when she left, maybe she stopped off in a bathroom on her way out?"

"Maybe," Sam echoed, thinking of how she looked after her run in with these two men. "I'll ask around. I like to make sure my employees aren't being hassled, especially when they're not feeling so great."

"Understandable," Jimmy agreed. "She seemed like a nice girl though, and able to take care of herself."

"Yeah," Sam replied, still feeling wary of the two men. "Thanks anyway. Sorry to bother you both."

"Not a problem," Kenny replied, glad to see him go. "Nice place you have down there by way."

"I do my best. I suppose I'll see you both at the party tonight," he said with a wave. "Thanks again."

Jimmy shut the door as Sam departed, and Kenny rapped softly on the bathroom door. "You can come out now."

"Your boss is looking for you," Jimmy said, as she stepped back out into the room. "He seems to by wondering where you are."

Max shook her head. Sam, what I am going to tell Sam? "He thinks I went home."

"Someone saw your car," Kenny interjected, not liking the way that Sam had tracked her down, and spoke about her, like they were something more then coworkers. "Are you two close?"

"Somewhat," Max said vaguely, not wanting to delve into her relationship with Sam at the moment. "I should probably go."

"No," Jimmy and Kenny said at the same time.

"No?" Max repeated. "I have a home, job, responsibilities and a life here. I can't stay here all night reminiscing with you two."

"You have a responsibility to a life that you ran out on," Kenny shot back. "If you think that I'm letting you walk away again . . . I'm not."

"I already told you, I can't go back," Max lamented. "I can't face Danny again."

"You're coming home," Jimmy insisted. "Max it's nonnegotiable. Maybe the plane crash was you're way of getting away last year, but us finding you here is your way of coming home. You owe it to yourself to see this thing through. There are people who care about and miss you, forget about Danny, your family, and concentrate on what was good before."

"I can't just forget about them," Max said softly, their words echoing in her thoughts, and she knew that they would be there to support her every step of the way. "How do I just go back to a life I left behind? Say sorry for letting you think I was dead? I somehow don't think it's going to be that easy. And Danny? He's not going to take it too well . . . he used to fly off the handle when . . . well faking my death on him is a lot more serious then anything he hit me for before."

"Max," Kenny pleaded. "People will understand, it'll take time, but they will."

"Do you?" she countered, needing to know how he felt about all of this.

"Yeah," Kenny responded. "I wish that you have come to me when you needed help, but Max I can see why you did this. I don't agree with it, but if it got you away from him . . . "

"Me too," Jimmy agreed. "But its time to go back to reality, and fix this."

"Okay," Max said softly, and as she stood there with them the last thing she wanted was to be apart from her friends any longer. She knew that they wanted to help her, and that they would never let anything bad happen to her again. Swallowing her fears, she nodded. "Okay. Where do we start?"

**555555555555555**

"It's small, but it's mine," Max said quietly, as she opened her door to let Kenny into her home. "Or at least it belongs to Abby."

"Nice view," he commented nodding toward the picture window over looking the bay, as she locked the door behind them.

"Uh huh," she agreed, not sure what to say to him now that they were alone. Jimmy had gone to the reception, after she and Kenny had snuck out the back. She knew that they were reluctant to let her out of their sight, and the last thing she wanted was Sam to get suspicious of her relationship with the two of them. "It's better when the sun is up."

Kenny glanced around the tastefully decorated room before turning to her. He longed to ask her all sorts of questions about how she managed to do all of this, but he didn't want to push her too hard just yet. They had time for that, and for now just looking at her made him happy.

"What?" she asked feeling his eyes upon her.

"I still can't believe it's you," he replied. "I almost had a heart attack when I saw you this afternoon."

"It shocked me too," Max agreed. "As soon as I saw you, I knew that everything was going to change again, no matter how hard I fought against it. It scared me, although . . . "

"What?" Kenny asked at her distant expression.

Max smiled shyly at him before continuing. "I felt like I had found part of myself again. The part I had left behind after I married Danny, and moved to Greenwich. It got buried in the two years I was there, and I certainly tried to ignore it this past year."

"Max," Kenny began, not too sure what to say. "There is so much I want to tell you."

"Me too," she replied. "And I know you must have a ton of questions for me, but can they wait? Kenny . . . I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore."

"I thought you were packing," he replied trying to lighten the mood, as the phone rang. Exhausted, he thought, worn down…who is this Sam guy?

She smiled as she snatched the ringing phone off of the table. "Hello? Sam, hi."

Kenny tried not to grimace at her obvious friendship, or something more serious with that man.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little better," she was saying. "I don't know about tomorrow yet, I'm still somewhat queasy." Shooting Kenny a sideways glance, she could tell that he was listening to her conversation and she knew him well enough to know that he was going to badger her about it. "No, no. I'll be fine. Enjoy the party tonight Sam, and I'll see you soon. Bye."

"How serious is it?" he asked as she hung up.

"What?" Max asked, hoping he would avoid the issue, but looking at him she knew he wouldn't. Sighing. "It's…He loves me, and I think I love him. I know he realizes there is stuff I'm not telling him."

"Does he know?" Kenny asked, thrown by her statement. She loves him? My Max…she's never been mine, I have to remember that. She's never wanted that.

"He knows that someone has hurt me," Max admitted softly. "And I'm so grateful to him, he is a great guy, and deserves so much better then me. I have no right to be in a relationship with anyone right now, besides the fact that I am married, I have a lot of issues that I need to work out."

"What are you going to tell him?" he asked. "You can't just disappear."

"I'm pretty good at that though," Max replied, before sighing. "I'm not sure. I owe him the truth. He's a good man Kenny and any other time it might have worked out. Do you know his parents live in Green Bay? That totally freaked me out because he wanted to take me there for Christmas."

"Small world," Kenny commented dryly, trying not to let his jealously show. Meeting his parents? She completely started over…she was going to let me think she was dead.

Max ignored his tone, and glanced around her apartment. It had just started to feel like home, she thought, but standing here with Kenny, it just seems fake. I don't know what I want to bring with me.

"There are some suitcases in the hall closet," she said pointing. "I don't have much that I really want to bring beside my clothes, and my wardrobe is pretty sparse at the moment."

Kenny nodded, as she began to pack up her life again.

**555555555555555**

Jimmy kept one eye on the bar manager that had come to the room, and who seemed to have some sort of relationship with Max. Sipping his beer, he tried to get a feel on who exactly he was because Max certainly wasn't telling them that much. Averting his eyes, as he looked his way, Jimmy tuned back into the conversation around him. Seeing Sam striding in his direction, Jimmy wasn't sure what he would say to the young man this time.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Sam asked in way of greeting.

"It's a nice reception," Jimmy replied, raising his glass. "You do a nice job here. Did you ever find your bartender?"

"I gave her a call awhile ago," Sam replied, not sure why this man seemed so interested in Abby. "She seems to be feeling a bit better."

"Nice girl," Jimmy commented, sizing the man up and read his expression easily. He was smitten with her. Jimmy realized, and he knew that Max was about to blow his world apart. "Have you two been together along time?"

"How did you know that we were a couple?" Sam asked surprised, knowing that Abby didn't just broadcast her personal life to total strangers.

"Cop instincts."

"Just over a year," Sam replied, something about this man making him uncomfortable. "I'm taking her to meet my parents in Wisconsin over the holidays."

"Really?" Jimmy replied, trying to hide his shock and knowing that Max probably had a fit. "Well my friend and I are from Rome Wisconsin. Where do your parents live?"

"Green Bay," Sam replied. "Isn't Rome that town where cows give birth to human babies?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting," Sam replied. "I've got to mingle, good to talk to you again."

Jimmy nodded as he walked away, and decided that he seemed like an okay fellow. Too bad that his whole life was going to be torn apart.

**555555555555555**

Max just stared at the packed bags, and tried to bury the panic building inside of her. She was really going to do this, and she was going to Rome, facing Danny, and taking back her life. She could feel Kenny watching her and part of her wanted to just crawl into the closet and hide until the monsters went away.

"You look kind of pale," Kenny commented, as she sunk down onto the bed. Cautiously he sat down beside her. "Hey, don't be scared, Max. I'll be with you through all of this."

"I know," she replied softly looking up at him. She could see the hurt in his big blue eyes, and the joy of finding her alive. "I'm not sure how to do this. I let…I let you think I was dead. I would of…if you didn't come here, I would of still let you think that…Oh, crap."

"I've never resurrected the dead before," Kenny commented, as her brave facade began to crumble. "Max, I promise you that this bastard will pay for everything that he ever did to you. You set up a whole new life here, we're you planning on just…God, you were just going to let me think you were dead."

She gulped, swallowing back her tears. "Yeah…I didn't want to screw up your life."

"You could of come to me! Max! You're my best friend, you don't screw anything up for me. How could you think…Damn it, Max!"

She shrunk away from him, not shocked at his anger, but scared of what he may do. "Don't."

"Max?" he asked, as she backed away from him. Oh, shit. She's afraid of me? Max is…What did he do to her? "Max? Hey, I'm not going to hurt you."

She stared at him for a long moment. What am I thinking? "I can't…he…no."

"I could never hurt you. Yeah, I'm pissed that you let me think you were dead. I would of done anything to help you."

"I know. I was scared, beaten down…I just lost my baby. I wanted to hide, forget…He, Danny…I hate him. He destroyed everything about me."

"No. You're here. Alive. You're going to divorce him, send him to prison. You're not alone."

Max nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close to him. He should hate me. He should never want to see me again. "I missed you."

He squeezed her back and combed through her long hair. You have no idea, Sweetheart, he thought, how much I missed you."

"I missed you too.

"What the hell?" a voice yelped, as the front door opened and closed. "What is going on here?"

Max twisted out of Kenny's arms, as Sam stared at her for a long moment. Trying to think up something that would explain this situation away, she turned to look at Kenny helplessly and seeing the same surprise on his face.

"Abby!" Sam asked, taking a step closer. "What? Who is this guy to you? Is this the asshole who beat you? Is this Danny?"

"Danny?" Max stammered. "No! God, I never want to see him again! This is…he's a friend, an old friend. I never thought…I ran away from a lot. I didn't expect to see them today and…It's so screwed up."

"So why didn't you tell me that you knew him earlier?" Sam asked, trying to control himself.

"I was in shock," Max replied. "And I have a lot I should have said sooner, and I'm not sure that you're going to like it all. I know I don't."

Sam looked from her to him, before his gaze settled on her packed bags on the floor. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah," Max replied softly. "I left a huge mess behind me, and I think I have to go fix it now. Kenny, can you go? I need to talk to Sam alone."

He looked at her for a long moment, not wanting to leave her alone. "You sure?"

She nodded, turning back to her boyfriend. "Sam, I have to tell you something."


	6. Encounters

-1"You're telling me you faked your death," Sam said incredulously, after Max finished talking. "Then bought a new identity, and let people think that you were gone? And you're married! Then you let me fall in love with you? What kind of person are you Abby? Max? Whoever the hell you are!"

"A desperate one," Max said evenly, trying not to feel stung by his anger.

"You lied to me," Sam continued. "Not just once, but every day since we've been together."

"Please," Max begged. "I never meant to hurt you Sam . . . I told you I made some bad choices before, and everything just snowballed. It made sense at the time, but now it's all messed up."

"Just now? I can't deal with this," Sam snapped, throwing his glass across the room, and shaking his head.

Max winced as it hit the wall. "Sam," Max said cautiously. "I know you're angry, and you have every right to be."

He cut her off. "Damn right I do! What else aren't you telling me? How couldn't you tell me? Is anything you told me true?"

Max swallowed her tears, and shook her head. "I really dated a midget."

"Unbelievable," Sam said softly. "So now what? You're going to walk out on this life?"

"I have to go back and fix this," Max replied. "I had a plan before the plane crashed, and I got a little sidetracked . . . Sam, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

"Neither do I," he replied, grabbing his coat. "I hope you're happy."

Max watched him head for the door, and as he paused before opening it, she said cautiously. "I have no right to ask you for a favor, but can you keep this to yourself? I'm not ready to let the world know yet."

"Who would believe me?" Sam replied venomously, turning back to look at her before sighing,. "Fine. Good luck Abby."

**6666666666666666666666**

"Why?" Max asked simply the next morning, as Jimmy joined her and Kenny in her apartment the next morning. "Can't it wait to we get there?"

Jimmy eyed her warily, not liking the way she was avoiding the idea of letting her friends know that she was alive. "Because you've played dead long enough, and I don't like to keep stuff like this from Jill."

"I'm not ready yet," Max insisted stubbornly.

"And you will be tomorrow?" Kenny couldn't help but ask, beginning to feel frustrated with her lack of willingness to go through with this. "Max this isn't something you can put off."

"And you're not running away from it again," Jimmy added. "You told Sam."

"Yeah? He had a hissy fit," Max countered. "And I've only known his for two years. These are people I knew forever, and if he took it so badly,"

Kenny cut her off before she could finish. "People might be pissed, that's a given. They care about you Max, and they'll get over it in time."

"So what is one more day?" Max asked, picturing an angry mob waiting to greet her. "If they've thought I've been gone so long, will one more day really hurt?"

"Yes," Jimmy snapped. "It will. This was an extremely selfish thing to do, and it's finished now! I don't want to hear about it anymore!"

Max swallowed at his anger, and knew that she was going to get a lot more reactions like that in the coming days. I'm not sure I can handle this, she thought wildly at Jimmy's temper.

Jimmy watched her step back at his explosion, and silently cursed himself for putting that fear on her face. She wasn't going to fight back he realized, and could have kicked Danny for taking her smashing her spirit like that.

"Fine," she finally managed to get out.

"Are you okay?" Jimmy asked warily catching Kenny's worried expression over Max's retreat from the issues. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm fine," Max insisted, just wanting to duck into another room to get her bearings back and hating herself for being afraid of a man who was like a father to her. "It's just that . . . "

"That what?" Kenny prompted.

Max shook her head. "This whole thing is so messed up, and it doesn't seem quite real to me yet. And it scares me to go back."

"I won't let anything bad happen to you," Kenny promised softly. "There is nothing to be afraid of Max."

"A few years ago I would have told you I could take care of myself," she responded just as quietly. "But I'm not so sure anymore."

Bastard, Kenny thought, thinking of Danny and what he had done to her. Damn him.

"You've been taking care of yourself for a while now," Jimmy interjected. "Not too many people could pull this off."

"But it's time to go home now," Max finished for him before sighing. "Go ahead, call her. I should probably talk to my parents though, and I know they'll call Danny if I do. They adored him."

"Are you ready for that?" Kenny asked seeing the doubt chase across her eyes.

"No," Max said, thinking of how her father would scream at her and how Danny would hurt her. I won't be alone with him, she vowed to herself. I'll get a divorce, tell his fiancé what he is like, and move on. "I think I better go see them in person."

Jimmy picked up her phone off the receiver, and she nodded at him to go ahead. Sinking into the couch cushions Max watched as Jimmy dialed his wife.

"Hello," Jill said breathlessly as she grabbed the phone back in Rome. "Hello?"

"Jill," Jimmy said in way of a greeting, as Kenny joined Max on the couch. He caught the way that Kenny squeezed her hand reassuringly in his, and suppressed a smile at how Kenny was still smitten with her, even after all of this time. "How is everything? You? The kids?"

"The boy's hockey team won, and Kim got a 97 on biology final," Jill informed him, as she caught the excitement mixed with apprehension in his voice. "I've had a slow week with patients. How is Seattle?"

"It's been interesting," he replied still watching them on the couch. "Full of surprises. Are you sitting down?"

"No," Jill said warily, sinking into a kitchen chair. "Jimmy?"

"I'm not sure how to say this," he faltered, as he thought of tossing the phone over to Max to explain it to her before he continue., "We ran into an old friend out here . . . "

"Jimmy?" Jill prodded at his silence, as she wondered what the hell he was talking about. "Is everything all right? Are you okay? And Kenny?"

"We're both fine," Jimmy insisted, as he struggled to form the words to tell her. "Uh, at the hotel we found, uh . . . "

"Jimmy," Jill cried. "Spit it out!"

"Max is alive," he blurted out, noting the way that Kenny was had his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. "Ah, Jill? Are you still there?"

"What did you just say?" she gasped, her husband's words echoing in her head. "Max? Jimmy she died in a plane crash."

"No. Jill she wasn't on the plane," Jimmy replied as if it all made perfect sense to him. "She got off, Jill I'm serious."

Jill felt her heart began to pound in her chest, as the thought of her actually being alive played in her mind. Could it be true, she thought? "Jimmy, are you sure? Have you talked to this woman? Or is it someone the two of you saw that looks like her?

"We've talked to her," Jimmy replied stubbornly. "And she has one hell of a story to tell. We're sitting here with her right now."

Jill swallowed and wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe in miracles. "Let me talk to her, Jimmy."

"All right," he said, holding the phone out to Max. "She wants to talk to you."

Max took the phone reluctantly, and knew that this was taking the first step to rebuilding her life. Eyeing it like it was going to bite her for a minute, she felt Kenny tighten his grip around her, and she leaned in closer to him. Lifting the phone to her ear, she felt both of them watching her. "Jill," Max said softly, willing her voice not tremble. "Hi."

Jill fell silent as she listened to the underlying fear in Max's voice, and she wanted to shed tears of gratitude for her not being dead. "Oh my god," Jill practically whispered. "Max."

"Yeah," Max replied trying to keep her voice steady. "Kind of a shock isn't it?"

"You weren't on that plane," Jill said trying to make sense of it all. "Oh, Honey, what did he do to you make you run away from your life?"

Max felt the tears well up in her eyes at Jill's question, and she couldn't answer because of it. Shoving the phone back at Jimmy, she tried to get control of her unpredictable emotions of late. She watched Jimmy talk quietly to Jill, and she felt the need to flee from all of this drama. Just crawl under the covers and hide. Steeling herself against it, she settled back into Kenny's arms as Jimmy spoke with his wife.

**6666666666666666666666**

Jill paced in her living room the next morning as her conversation with Jimmy and her few words exchanged with Max ran through her mind. She had called all their friends and demanded that they come over the next morning. She and Jimmy both thought that it was better to give them some warning about this before Max just strolled back into town. Glancing at the assembled members of town mingling around her living room, Carter, Littleton, Wambaugh, Judge Bone, Skeeter, and various others, Jill honestly didn't know how to spring this news on them.

"Thank you for coming," she said blandly. "I must have sounded crazy on the phone, but Jimmy called from Seattle last night with some news that all of you should know."

"What is going on Jill?" Littleton asked, remembering her tone when she called him yesterday.

"They found someone," she began before hesitating. "This is hard, I know now why Jimmy couldn't just say it last night."

"Just tell us," Bone growled, sounding more impatient that he actually was.

"They found Max," she finally said. "I don't know the whole story, but she wasn't on that plane. Something about getting off before it took off, then I'm not sure what happened next. But she is alive."

"What?" Carter cried breaking the shocked silence of the room. "What?"

"That is impossible," Wambaugh added. "If she is alive, where has she been? Besides Seattle?"

Jill shrugged. "I don't know, but we're all going to find out."

"What the hell did Danny do to her make her run away like this?" Littleton asked, thinking like a lawyer. "She had to know that everyone thought she was dead. She must have been terrified of him to let that happen."

"This is nuts," Skeeter added. "Is this really happening?"

The group of friends began to speculate quietly, as the anticipation of seeing the dearly departed mounted.

**6666666666666666666666**

"To say good bye," Max said firmly to Kenny and Jimmy at the same time her friends were dealing with her apparent resurrection. "I know Sam is mad, but it doesn't feel right to go off without saying something to him. Even if he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Kenny said evenly, trying to bury his jealously of her attachment to Sam. "Max, I think you broke his heart."

She shook her head. "He didn't deserve that, and even if he just wants to yell some more . . . I won't be gone long."

Kenny and Jimmy exchanged a nervous look, as they loaded her bags into the rental car. They didn't think that she was going to run off anywhere, but they didn't really want to take that chance.

Max changed tactics on them. "You two didn't get to say good bye when I, well when I died I guess, and Sam shouldn't have to go through that too. Abby Quinn is kind of dying now . . . this made a lot more sense before I said it aloud."

"It still does," Jimmy said, as they stood outside their new hotel. "Go. We'll meet you back at your apartment."

"How about two?" Max asked, checking her watch.

"That's four hours," Kenny interjected. "How long can you talk to the guy?"

Max shot him a dark look, and Kenny was glad to see some of the spark back in her eyes then. "I just want to do some stuff first. I did have a life before you two arrived and blew it out of the water."

Kenny watched a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, and resisted the urge to argue with her. While it was something that they did sort of carelessly before, he wasn't sure how hard he could push her just yet. He glanced at her too thin frame clad in faded jeans and dark purple tank top, and burgundy hair pulled back off of her face, and caved in. "Okay, okay. Go do what you have to do."

Max smiled shyly at him, and waved at them as she climbed into her car. Kenny and Jimmy watched her roll out of the lot before either of them said anything else.

"She seems to be holding up well," Jimmy commented. "Most of the time."

"It's got to be a shock to her too," Kenny added. "I doubt she thought anyone would find her out here. Do you think she would have come back on her own?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Not sure. Danny has had her running scared for years, but I would like to think she would have liked to stick it to him at some point. No matter how traumatized, she was it isn't Max's nature to run and hide. She is a fighter."

"I know that," Kenny said wryly, recalling some of his and Max's battles. "She shouldn't have had to go through all of this alone."

Jimmy shot him a sideways glance and tired to phrase his next statement in the right way. "The last thing she is looking for right now is more complications Kenny."

Kenny caught his implication, and tried not to feel offended by it. "I'm not pushing anything on her Jimmy. Hell, she is still married for gods sake."

Jimmy nodded absently, as Kenny looked in the direction that her car had gone.

**6666666666666666666666**

Max pulled into the lot at the Red Baron, and tried to come up with something to say to Sam. She knew he was angry, and she would never forget his expression when he saw her in bed with Kenny. Even if it was nothing, she thought wryly, trying not to think of the easy comfort she felt by being held by him. Slamming the door, Max pondered on what Sam might have said to everyone about her not being at work for the last two days, or if had filled them in on her little secret.

"Abby! Where have you been?" a voice called behind her. "You still sick?"

"No, well a little," Max said, forcing a smile. "How have you been Dawn?"

"Fine. Are you looking for Sam? He has been a little pissy lately, and seeing you might perk him up a bit," Dawn suggested with a sly smile. "He's in his office."

"That's who I'm looking for," Max replied. "Hey, we'll catch up later okay? I'm kind of in a rush."

"Fine," she replied. "I'm off anyway. See you soon."

Max watched her go, as she approached Sam's door. Hesitating for a second, she rapped softly.

"It's open," his muffled voice replied, as Max fought the urge to forget this whole thing. No more running, she thought. He's been too good for me to run.

"Hi," she said softly, pushing the door open. "Can I talk to you?"

He glared at her, and Max swallowed at the anger in his eyes. "You want to talk? What else have you neglected to tell me? Are you really a man?"

"No," Max practically whispered. "I know you probably hate me, and I don't really like myself either at the moment, but . . . "

"You just want to drive the knife deeper," Sam snapped, before sighing. "What else is there to say?"

"I'm so sorry," Max pleaded. "I know it doesn't make up for the hurt you must be feeling Sam, but I am sorry. I never meant to cause you this pain."

"I know," he replied softly. "Abby, er, Max, I hate the fact that you had to live with a man that hurt you so much, and I can't imagine how he could do that to someone like you. To anyone. I wish you told me. I could have helped you."

"You did help me," Max insisted. "Sam without you I probably would have ended up living on the street somewhere! You deserve so much better then me. I'm a mess!"

"Despite the last few days . . . you have a lot to work out," Sam said thoughtfully. "As hurt as I am, you can call me if you need anything. I know your friends are going to take good care of you, but I'll be here if you need me."

"Okay," Max agreed softly, as silence fell between them. "I'm going to go, I guess. We're leaving tomorrow. Sam? Thank you, for everything."

He nodded, as she left and he didn't trust himself to speak. Despite it all she still owned a large part of his heart.

**6666666666666666666666**

Max sat on the sea wall and watched the water roll back in forth in front of her. At least things are somewhat better with Sam, although I know he's still hurt, she thought to herself. Watching the people walk along the boardwalk, everyone seemed so happy and together. Swinging her legs back over to the pavement, she blended into the crowd and tried to think of how to approach Danny and her family when she went home. Somehow she didn't think that they would take it to well.

"I can't do this," she said aloud, as her heart began to pound in her chest. "Shit. I can't go back there."

Images of Danny flew across her mind. His twisted and bitter face, his fist. Grimacing, she sank onto the wall again. Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself Max slowly made her way back to her car.

**6666666666666666666666**

"It's four," Kenny said watching the clock flip. "Where is she?"

Jimmy had a sinking feeling that Max baled on them, and shook his head. "She wouldn't do that again."

"Sam said she left hours ago," Kenny replied. "She could be anywhere Jimmy. It's not like Max hasn't done this before."

"I can't believe that she would just disappear again," Jimmy sighed. "Especially now."

"Damn it," Kenny said quietly, praying that they were wrong. "She seemed okay with going back, at least more so then she did earlier. Who do we call? Yeah our friend who died last year, but really didn't ran away? That would be strange even in Rome."

"If she did," Jimmy said evenly. "We're going to find her. One she is not letting Danny get away with all of this, and if it means we have to broadcast her story everywhere we'll do it."

The two men lapsed into silence as the time continued to tick away.


	7. Reunion

-1Kenny and Jimmy both kept one eye on the clock, as they pondered what to do about Max. Neither really wanted to believe that she ran away again, but as the time neared six it became more of a realistic option. Kenny paced around her apartment, as Jimmy sat on the couch.

"Where would she go?" Kenny finally asked breaking the silence, "Could she have decided to do it by herself?"

"I doubt that," Jimmy said dryly thinking of Max's fear of her husband. "She probably panicked, and took off."

"We can't just sit here," Kenny replied more calmly then he felt. "We just got her back, Jimmy."

He is in love with her, Jimmy thought at that moment as he watched his deputy wear a hole in the carpeting. Shit, I wonder if he even realizes it, or if she does. Both were shaken out of their thoughts as they heard a key turn in the lock. Exchanging a quick look, Jimmy undid the deadbolt and Kenny yanked it open.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kenny practically cried. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"You're almost four hours late," Jimmy added.

Max regarded them both silently for a minute, as she pondered what to tell them. She had come up with a few speeches on her drive, but they didn't seem quite as right as they did a few hours ago. She knew what they both must have been thinking, and Max was sure that they weren't far off from the truth.

"Max," Kenny asked a little more calmly, relieved more then anything else that she hadn't disappeared again.

"I wanted to run," Max finally said. "I was walking along the sea wall, and everything just hit me. And it seemed impossible."

Kenny and Jimmy stood in silence, so she continued. "I just started to drive, I wanted to get away from everything. I stopped for gas, but I saw these two people there. A man and woman, and he was slapping her and she was screaming at him to stop."

Max swallowed and tried to collect herself again, as they continued to listen to her. "And something just snapped inside of me. I spent all this time being terrified of Danny, and I still am, but I was never angry. Watching those two earlier, I just wanted to explode, and I wasn't going to let him get away with it. Either of them."

"What did you do?" Jimmy asked, seeing some of the familiar fire return to her eyes.

"I kicked him," she replied almost shyly. "And she broke away, and called for help."

"You kicked him?" Kenny repeated, picturing the scene that Max just described. "Max."

"I didn't really think about it," she said a little defensively and paused before continuing. "She needed help . . . it was like looking in a mirror."

"When did you stop fighting Danny?" Jimmy asked quietly.

Max shook her head. "It was worse when I struggled, so it was just easier to let him do what he wanted. That's the part that I have trouble with, why didn't I fight him? Or leave him sooner? Why did I let him do this to me?"

Kenny could tell that she was holding herself together by a supreme effort, but he decided that the fact that she was finally angry about it was a good sign. He would take her pissed off over terrified and trembling any day.

"You can fight him now," Kenny replied carefully, and he still couldn't believe that she actually kicked some strange man.

Max nodded slowly, as some of her panic faded away. "I will. I just don't know how to do this, Danny, my parents, what do I say to them? You two, it's easy, or at least I don't have to worry about being verbally or physically slapped."

"Let's worry about that when we have too," Jimmy said, surprised at her bluntness with the subject. "We have an early flight tomorrow."

Max tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, as she joined them both on the couch to discuss the next day.

**777777777777777**

Jill paced around the kitchen, as the occupants of the room watched her. Twisting her hands together, she glanced at the clock again and mentally began ticking down the minutes until they would drive to the airport. She was still somewhat shocked by the events of the last few days, but the anticipation of seeing her old friend was killing her.

"Wow," Carter said finally breaking the silence, his eyes on the clock too. "Ah, maybe we should just go now? Anything is better then sitting here."

"You would rather sit in the airport?" Littleton asked incredulously.

"There is traffic, parking, security," Carter countered.

Littleton shot him a dark look, as Skeeter interjected trying to break the nervous tension. "Anyone want a drink? I know it's only nine, but it's twelve somewhere."

"Damn Danny," Jill finally said, ignoring the three of them. "How could all of this have happened, and no one knew?"

"I'm sure Max will fill us in," Littleton replied. "I subpoenaed her medical reports, and it looks like Danny tossed her around a lot. She might have thought this was her only way out."

Jill nodded as if she suspected this, as the four of them glanced at the clock again.

"Oh, lets just go," she finally said.

Max sat in between Kenny and Jimmy as the plane made it's final descent into Green Bay. Glancing out the window she could make out the city, and the rolling plains in the distance. Struggling to keep her nerves off of her face she concentrated on the landscape before her. It grew closer and closer, and Max nearly jumped 10 feet when she felt a hand on her arm.

"What?" she snapped, sounding a little more angry then she was. "Sorry . . . I was just thinking."

"Didn't mean to scare you," Kenny replied, somewhat taken back by her outburst. "You look like you're going to be sick."

Max shot a nervous look at the approaching ground, before turning back to him, "Uh, yeah. Nerves, I guess."

Jimmy watched the two of them in silence, and smiled to himself at Kenny's protectiveness of Max. The way that he laid his hand over hers, and the way the she leaned closer to him. made Jimmy hopeful that they might have a happy ending when this was all finished. He knew that Max had a long, uphill, battle ahead of her, and he hoped that Kenny would have enough patience to wait it out with her. Hell, Jimmy thought, he waited all these years, what is a little more time.

"No, I'll be fine," Max was saying as he tuned back in. "What is the worst that can happen? This is only the first step, it's the stuff that comes after that I'm worried about."

Kenny smiled reassuringly at her, as the plane bumped down on the runway. Max's heart began to pound in her chest as the familiar Green Bay airport whizzed by outside her window. She felt Kenny tighten his grip around her hand, and she squeezed back in anticipation.

**77777777777777**

Jill, Carter, Littleton and Skeeter stood at the gate as the plane taxied in. Squinting against the sun, they tried to make out faces inside the plane, but they couldn't see anything.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Carter announced.

"That's welcoming," Skeeter replied sarcastically.

Littleton glanced toward the gate as the first passengers began to come off. "This stuff only happens in those movies of the weeks."

"Or in Rome," Jill added, watching for the three of them.

**77777777777777**

"You ready?" Kenny asked quietly in her ear as people began to move down the aisle.

"No," she said simply looking at the two of them. "Can I just stay here?"

"Max," Jimmy said sternly. "As you just said, what is the worst that can happen?"

Grimacing, she nodded, and slowly unfastened her seatbelt. Giving herself a once over, she snatched her purse from under the seat in front of her. "Okay then. Lets go."

Rising shakily to her feet, she followed Kenny down the aisle, with Jimmy bringing up the rear.

**77777777777777**

The passengers began to dwindle, as the four of them stood there.

"Uh, where are they?" Skeeter asked. "I know it's a big plane and they were probably stuck in the back, but . . . "

"Jimmy would have called if something happened," Jill insisted, her eyes never leaving the gate. "They'll be here."

"I hope so," Littleton added, as he prayed that this whole thing wasn't some kind of hoax.

**77777777777777**

"I'm really going to be sick now," Max groaned, leaning up against the jet way wall. "I'm not kidding."

"Breathe," Kenny said, really hoping she didn't vomit. Looking at her pale expression and shaking hands, he didn't hold out too much faith that she would hold it in. "Just think, in a few minutes this will all be over."

Max shook her head. "It's just starting."

**77777777777777**

"Oh my god," Jill whispered as the threesome came into the terminal. "Oh my god."

"Holy shit," Skeeter added. "I didn't quite believe it until now."

Carter felt a wide smile break across his face, and all he could do was stare at them. There were no words that he could say would express the happiness that he felt at that moment.

"Unbelievable," Littleton managed to get out. "Amazing."

Looking at the woman clad in faded jeans and white sweater coat, standing in between the two tall men, it was like seeing a ghost. Too thin, Jill though irrationally, as her maternal instinct took over. She wanted to feed her, and keep her safe from the monsters out there.

"Jimmy," she finally called hoarsely. "Jimmy!"

They all turned toward the sound of her voice, and Max swallowed the bile that threatened to come up. She managed to control it in the jet way, but looking at the four of them waiting over by the window made the possibility of projectile vomiting all the more possible.

"You can do this," Kenny whispered in her ear, to quiet for Jimmy to hear."One step at a time."

"This isn't AA," she whispered back, beginning to walk as he nudged her along. "Oh God."

She could see the shocked amazement on all of their faces, and Max felt herself start to tremble. Willing herself steady, she was absolutely speechless when they reached the four of them.

"Welcome home," Jill finally choked out, noting the weariness in her eyes.

"Where have you been for the past year?" Carter added, still somewhat shocked by the return of his dead friend.

"Are you okay?" Littleton added. "How could you have faked your own death?"

"What is the afterlife like?" Skeeter stuck in.

Shooting a helpless look at Kenny, Max struggled to come up with something that would answer their questions. She could feel their eyes boring into her in expectation, but she could see the joy there as well. "Um. Hi," she managed to get out, and she felt Kenny nudge her again. "Yeah, uh . . . "

"We thought you were dead," Carter said quietly.

"Yeah," Max replied flatly, then deciding she should probably use some multi-syllable words. "So did a lot of people."

"Why?" Jill asked.

Max just shook her head. "It's complicated . . . more so then I ever thought it would be."

"Later," Jimmy said, shooting the group a stern look, knowing that Max wasn't ready to delve into the subject at this very moment. "It's a lot to listen too, and an airport terminal isn't the best place to do that."

"It's good to have you back," Skeeter said with a wide smile, wanting to give her hug. "We've missed you around here."

Max gave him a shy smile, and let herself relax some as they made their way to the baggage claim.

**77777777777777**

Littleton drives a minivan, Max thought as it sped down the highway toward Rome. I know he has a daughter, but I can't believe he has one of these. Looking at the passing countryside, she tried to ignore the silence in the van, but knew that they were all waiting for her to say something. And Max knew that they deserved an explanation for the past year, and the two years that she was with Danny, but she couldn't muster up the words right then. Closing her eyes against the sunlight, Max tried to stop thinking about anything at all. This whole coming back from the dead thing is tough, she thought wryly.

"Max? Are you awake?" Carter's voice asked behind her.

"What? Oh, yeah," she replied sitting up a bit. "Sorry."

"Have you thought about what you want to do?" Jill asked her. "About everything? Do you need anything, food, clothes, money, a place to stay?"

Max thought of the jewelry that she had sold after she ran, and the tips she had made in the last year. "Thanks, I have enough though."

"You look like you could use some food," Skeeter commented.

"It hasn't been a priority," Max admitted, knowing she was a lot thinner then she used to be.

"I take it that you're staying with Kenny," Carter asked observing their obvious closeness.

"Yup," Kenny answered for her before Max could argue. Swallowing her words, she knew it would be easier that way, and besides out of all of them she felt most comfortable with him. Shooting him a sideways glance, Max decided that it wouldn't be a bad thing after all.

"Yup," she agreed, as they passed the sign signaling that they were entering Rome.

**77777777777777**

"What do you mean her medical records were subpoenaed?" Danny bellowed to the head of the hospital. "Why would anyone from that town want Maxine's medical records? How could you give them to those people?"

"It was a court order Dr. Shreve," Richard Griffin said evenly, not liking the shrinks outburst and he had to wonder if these people's allegations were true. "If there is nothing to be found, I'm sure there won't be any problems."

"These people," Danny seethed. "They hated the fact that Maxine married me, and they're just looking to stir up trouble. They treated me like dirt, even after I had a hospital wing built in her name in that cruddy little town."

Richard took a step back before responding. "I'm sure they were hurt that they lost their friend, and people take their grief out in many ways. As a doctor you know that. Excuse me. I have rounds to make."

Turning away from Danny, Richard picked up his pace and promised that he would look into Maxine Shreve's records himself. Something about Danny Shreve didn't sit right with him.

**77777777777777**

"How many people know I'm here?" Max asked as the van pulled into the Brock driveway.

"Not many," Jill said. "No one who would tell a tabloid, or anyone else. People care about you, and missed you, Max. Kimberly does, and she took the boys for the day."

"The department knows," Skeeter added. "And the church, some of the school officials."

"Is that all?" Max commented dryly, trying to do a tally in her head. She wasn't ready to come completely out of hiding yet, and until she knew what she was going to do about her husband. That word sounds so odd to me, she thought. Shit, and my parents. Groaning internally, she slid out of the van and followed them inside. Glancing around the familiar kitchen and surroundings Max realized how much she really missed these people. Vowing not to cry, she knew that they were waiting for her to talk now.

"You care to start?" Littleton finally asked, getting ready to take mental notes.

"Okay," Max agreed, not sure exactly where to start. "I don't know what you already know . . . but I'm not dead. I never intended to be dead, it sort of happened and I went with it. In hindsight it wasn't the most intelligent thing I've ever done . . . seeming less so every day. Argh."

"Why would you want to be dead?" Carter asked, hoping the allegations of abuse that were floating around weren't true.

Max paused, and knew that they needed to hear it from her, no matter how many times that they had seen it on paper. "Danny . . . he was an ass . . . who liked to hit when he got upset . . . which he did a lot."

"When did it start?" Littleton asked gently.

"About three months after we first got married," Max said softly, trying not to think of it. "And before you ask, I don't why I stayed. Does anyone really know why? He said he would kill me if I left, but I knew that he would kill me if I stayed too. I don't know why."

"Why did you leave then?" Jill asked.

Max swallowed, and folded her arms across her chest, "The last time it happened, it was really bad, and I ended up in the hospital because . . . I was pregnant . . . I miscarried that night."

They lapsed into silence as Max pulled herself together to continued. "Well, I'll tell you the rest of it. Have a seat. It's going to take awhile."

**77777777777777**

Kenny tossed her bags on the couch as she looked around his apartment in wonder, with a big smile on her face. This is the first time I've seen her smile like that in a long time, Kenny realized watching her.

"It hasn't changed," Max finally said turning to face him.

"I did buy a futon for the spare room though," he said. "The bed is all yours though, I'll take that."

"Kenny," Max said patiently. "This is your apartment, and after all you've had to put up with from me, the last thing I'm doing is taking your bed. I've slept on much worse them a futon."

"What kind of man would I be if I made you sleep in the same place that I throw my gym clothes? Kenny countered, watching her smile at him again, and it was a huge relief to him to know that she could still smile after all that she had been through. "C'mon Max, humor me."

Max regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before responding. "I'll be fine as long as you don't throw your gym clothes on me. Honestly, I wouldn't feel right about it. I've disrupted your life enough without stealing your bed."

"Okay, okay," Kenny caved, seeing that she was digging her heels in. "Will you at least let me move my weights and stuff out of there? And maybe clear some drawer space?"

Max nodded. "I can live with that."

**77777777777777**

"That poor woman," Jill said quietly to Jimmy after the boys had gone to bed, "It took a lot of courage to get away from him, but coming back . . . I'm not sure how she is doing that. She was all alone.

"We didn't really give her a choice," Jimmy said dryly, "She's terrified of him Jill, and rightly so. I don't know how Max is going to react to seeing him again, or taking him to court for all of this. I think if he even looked at her the wrong way she would flinch. That isn't the woman that I knew before, she would have fought him every step of the way, and it hurts like hell that she didn't come to us for help. She wasn't totally alone…she had a boyfriend in Seattle, seemed like a nice guy.

"She is here now," Jill replied. "And if she really didn't want to be, I doubt she would have gotten on that plane. A boyfriend? Did he know?"

Jimmy thought back to last night when Max almost did decide to run again, but came back. He knew she wasn't going anywhere now, but he still was cautious about when she went to go see Danny. He promised himself that she would never be alone with him, and when they went to court either Wambaugh or Littleton would be with her at all times. Jimmy had to smile a bit at the two of them agreeing to work together to nail Danny.

"I know," Jimmy said. "I don't know what she told him, but…She had someone, she wanted to start over, be someone else."

**77777777777777777**

"No, no, no," Max argued in Wambaugh's office the next morning. "I can't do that!"

Jimmy and Kenny exchanged a quick glance at her stubbornness, as Littleton jumped in to argue as well. "Yes you can. What did you think that we were going to do?"

"I want to divorce him," Max lamented, "I can't take him to court for all of this!"

"He deserves to be thrown in prison," Littleton shot back. "He's an abuser, and you know he is going to do it again!"

"I can't," she said just as firmly.

"You actually think he's just going to let you waltz in with divorce papers and let you walk out of his life," Wambaugh sputtered. "From what I've heard he isn't the most reasonable fellow."

"Think about it Max," Littleton continued. "About everything that he has done. We have your medical records from Connecticut and I spoke to several doctors up there. And a Sean McDonough, the officer who interviewed you after you lost your baby. Oh, not to mention the fact that Danny knew that you weren't kidnapped and set it up to look like you were? Is this the kind of person who should be providing psychiatric help to people?"

"No," Max shot back before sighing. "How can I take him to court? I know how this all works, and I won't be the most reliable witness. The society wife who goes and fakes her death to get away from him? Sympathy? Maybe. But with the lawyers that he can afford . . . he'll do anything."

"We won't let him," Wambaugh said, "I'm Douglas Wambaugh, I can handle any over priced lawyer in an Armani suit."

Max shuddered as she thought of Danny's threats to kill her if she ever left, or to have her committed. "Okay," she said softly, "Lets go for it."


	8. Battles

-1"Why do all of you keep talking to these people? They are just trying to cause trouble," Danny asked calmly to the medical board. "My wife is dead for gods' sake, and they are just trying to make me look bad. They resent the fact that I took Maxine away from their little town."

"They seem to have some valid points," Richard Griffin said evenly. "And they had a court order for those records."

"Your wife certainly did have a lot of falls as well," Dr. Jack Rowland inserted with a frown. "It is probably nothing I know, but it looks suspicious."

"They are just trying to stir up trouble," Danny repeated, keeping his anger in check.

"They have not proof or witnesses, and the woman in question is dead," Dr. Kelly Mackenzie added. "Just ride it out Danny, and don't give them the reaction that they are looking for."

"Then why have you called me in here," he asked.

"The publicity is making us look bad," Richard answered. "We're here to ask you to step down as head of psychiatry until this all blows over."

"What?" Danny exploded jumping up. "You can't expect me to do that! It's just as bad as saying that I hurt her, and it is what they want to happen!"

"We are asking you now," Richard repeated. "But I will order you to if you refuse. This is serious, Danny, and I don't intend to have these rumors floating around."

"Fine," Danny practically spat. "I will see all of you when these simpletons stop trying to make me look like the bad guy. I loved my wife, everything I did was out of love."

"I'm sure you did," Kelly said more gently, his last statement causing her to shudder.

Danny glared at the occupants of the room, as he left to collect his things.

**888888888888888888**

Max paced her hotel room in Greenwich, and was surprisingly calm about being back there. Glancing out the window of her tenth floor room, she had to wonder about how Danny was going to take the divorce papers and the charges she was filing against him. He really has no idea about what is about to happen she thought wryly.

"You're going to wear a hole in that carpet," Littleton observed, noting her nervous energy.

"They can afford it," she said off handily, her mind still occupied by Danny and the statement she just gave to Sean McDonough.

"How are you holding up?" he pressed, knowing that the next few days were going to be rough for her.

Max shook her head. "I haven't felt this calm in a long time. Even being back here . . . it just feels like everything is, I don't know how to say this. I don't want to be a victim anymore, and being back here doesn't scare the shit out of me like I thought it would."

"You'll have to see him in the next few days," Littleton said carefully.

"I know," Max said softly. "Part of me really wants to see his expression when he finds out that I'm not dead. I read in the paper that he stepped down as head of psychiatry until the rumors about his abuse of his deceased wife were cleared up. I can imagine his reaction to that."

Littleton nodded as she spoke, and hoped that she could keep up the same quiet strength that she had now.

**888888888888888888**

Dumb murder case, Kenny thought to himself as he studied the file in front of him. Why did this have to happen now? More then anything I want to be with Max in Greenwich right now, but instead I have to figure out who dumped this man in a river. Giving himself a mental shake, Kenny reminded himself that it was his job to bring this man justice, and that Littleton and Wambaugh were with Max right now.

"You've got to see this," Carter called breezing in from the morgue, waving a stack of papers in front of Kenny's nose. "I found semen! A lot of them!"

"You always do," Kenny commented dryly, grateful for the reprieve from his thoughts. "So what? Our victim was gay?"

"And a drug user," Carter affirmed. "I found evidence of heroin in his system, mixed with something else that I'm having analyzed as we speak."

"Really?" Kenny asked, trying to muster up as much enthusiasm as Carter had. "Anything else to go on?"

"Not yet," Carter replied. "But I'm looking. Take a look at these, and let Jimmy know that he comes back in."

"Not a problem," Kenny said, taking the files, as Carter trotted back to the morgue. Why can't I stop thinking about her? It never used to be like this, he thought, thinking of the beautiful red head that had been sleeping on his futon for a week. Sighing, he turned back to his work.

**888888888888888888**

"What the hell?" Danny gasped, as his lawyers handed him the stack of papers that Littleton and Wambaugh had compiled. "They can't be serious. Divorce papers? Maxine is dead. She died in a plane crash over a year ago. These people are morons."

"Is this her signature?" Tom Brown, his lawyer, asked pointing to a page.

Danny snatched it from him, and all he could do was stare. "It looks like it, but it can't be. She wouldn't have left me like this. She couldn't have. She knew what would happen."

"What would happen?" Tom asked warily, not liking the wild look in Danny's eyes.

Danny stared at him. "Call them, find out if Maxine is alive. She can't be, I know that they're just trying to make me crazy, but call anyway."

Tom nodded, as Danny sunk into his couch and tried to cope with the idea that Maxine might have actually gotten away from him. She'll regret it, he thought, if she is really alive, she'll regret it.

**888888888888888888**

"How did it go with your parents?" Kenny asked Max that night on the phone.

Max groaned internally before replying. "Not so good. I think that they disowned me, and they didn't believe anything that I was saying. To them Danny can do no wrong, unlike me."

"Max," Kenny said hearing the disappointment and hurt in her tone. "They'll come around."

"No," she said softly. "They never did before, and the only time that three of us managed to have a civil conversation was after I got married. They were so impressed with him, and I redeemed myself to them."

"Is that why you eloped?" Kenny asked after a moment.

Good question, Max thought. "I'm not sure, maybe. It all happened so fast, now looking back I'm not sure what I was thinking Kenny. I wish I took some more time back then, and maybe I could have avoided all of this. All I've done is hurt people since I married him, my family, friends, Sam, you."

Kenny was taken back a bit by her honesty and insight into the situation. "You had good reasons too."

"There had to be another way," Max argued. "The disappearing act didn't have to happen, there were many other ways that I could have handled it last year. I never meant for any of you to get hurt like that Kenny, and with all of the distance between us, I really didn't think that it would make a big difference in your life. I pushed everyone away that ever care about me, and . . . I'm so sorry for that."

"Max," Kenny choked out, hating that she would have ever thought any of that. "Don't ever think that. Do you know how important you are to me? When I saw you in Seattle it was like I got part of myself back."

Max swallowed at his passion as Littleton and Wambaugh came into the room. "Me too."

Both fell silent at that, and she glanced over at her lawyers. Knowing that they wanted to talk to her, she felt momentarily relieved not to have to delve into this subject with Kenny right now.

"Max," he said finally breaking the silence. "I wish I could be there with you now."

She smiled slightly, and she wished that too. Everything just felt that much better when they were together. "So do I, but I think that these two want to go over what is going to happen tomorrow with me."

"Good luck," he said meaning it. "Max, be careful."

"I will, bye," she said, reluctant to let him go. Trying not to analyze her feelings, she turned back toward Littleton and Wambaugh, waiting to see what they would be doing tomorrow.

**888888888888888888**

Oh shit, Max thought as she slid farther down in her seat as she saw Danny and his gang of lawyers make their way into the courthouse. Oh shit, what was I thinking? Littleton and Wambaugh followed her gaze, and Wambaugh was tempted to gun the engine and run the man over.

"He can't hurt you anymore," Littleton said lowly. "We're going to make sure of that."

Max merely nodded, her gaze still fixed on the back of her departing husband.

"You ready to go in?" Wambaugh asked, hopeful to break her out of her reverie and noting the swarm of press waiting outside. "Is there a back way in?"

"Since when do you not like reporters?" Littleton scoffed.

Wambaugh just nodded toward the back seat, and wondered if filing the papers to get her life back in order before they confronted Danny for the first time was the right idea. The papers were already printing stories questioning Max's death, and because of Danny's minor celebrity she was well known about Greenwich. Wambaugh was quite sure that she wasn't looking forward to having her picture splashed across the front page of the newspaper.

"Lets just get this part over with," Littleton continued in the silence. "The first time you have to see him Max will be the hardest, and it will get easier."

"Yeah," she replied, unconvinced. "We might as well go in, and I suppose there is no way to avoid the press. Quite a welcome back from the grave."

**888888888888888888**

Danny stared at the double doors leading into the courtroom, and waited for the other side to appear. He had serious doubts that Maxine was alive and well, but if she was he had every intention of letting her know how her deceit made him feel. Relieved that this was a closed court proceeding because he didn't want this personal business between himself and his wife broadcast to the entire world, Danny turned to Tom.

"Where are they?" he asked lowly. "I knew this had to be some type of game."

Tom checked his watch, and tried to ignore the menacing light in his clients eyes and had to wonder if the abuse allegations floating around were true.

"They'll be here," Tom promised. "It's not quite ten yet. Before they do arrive Danny, I want to stress how important it is that you keep calm. They will try to paint you as volatile and unpredictable, so we must show them otherwise. The judge and grand jury is examining the abuse claims, but without Maxine's testimony we both know that it is a moot point. This divorce though is odd, I don't know what her lawyers are asking for it if she is dead. Also, there were papers filed a few days ago to make her seem alive again, at least on paper."

"They want me to admit to something that I didn't do," Danny growled. "She would hate them for this."

Both turned toward the doors as they creaked open, and Wambaugh and Littleton walked in. "You're looking well," Wambaugh commented to Danny and nodding to his lawyer.

"What do you people want? Filing abuse charges is a laugh, and they'll never stick and a divorce? My wife is dead, and she would have no reason to divorce me."

"I think she would," Little countered. "And that is why we are all here today. I just got a call from the judge, and the case will be going to trial. I'm sure you'll be getting your own phone call as well, and there is no way that you are getting away with what you did to her. I'll have you locked up so quickly your head will spin."

"Without Maxine's testimony, it will all be hearsay," Tom interjected. "I've seen the police file, all the medical records, and doctor statements won't be considered without a witness in court. My client is an upstanding citizen of this community, and there is no way he will be convicted on this charge with her testimony."

"Would Maxine really want you to do this? She was my wife, and we were in love," Danny interrupted. "You need to get past your own grief about her passing, and move on."

"Spare me the psychiatry act," Wambaugh replied, moving toward the door.

"Who says that we don't have her testimony?" Littleton added, feeling somewhat smug about Danny's recoil at his statement, as Wambaugh opened the door.

Danny stared as the woman walked in, and stopped a few feet in front of Wambaugh. Lifting her head and brushing her hair back from her face she looked him straight in the eye before speaking.

"Hello, Danny," Max said evenly, "Surprised to see me?"

**888888888888888888**

"You look deep in thought," Jimmy observed watching as Kenny flipped through Carter's reports again.

Kenny glanced up at him, and shut the folder slowly. Piling work upon work, he was trying to forget about the conversation that he had with Max last night, and the feelings that it had stirred up in him. She doesn't need complications right now, he kept telling himself, just be her friend.

"Just trying to figure this thing out," Kenny replied. "Carted got an id on him last night, and apparently he got into a fight with a guy at one of the gay bars in Etna a few nights before he disappeared."

Jimmy nodded, knowing his young friends mind was not completely involved on the case in front of him, and he knew how much Kenny wanted to be there for Max right now. He didn't want to pry into his deputies personal life, but Jimmy knew what good friends they were before Max had gotten married, and he was amazed by their closeness now.

"Have you talked to her?" Jimmy asked. "Littleton called last night, and they were going to meet with Danny and his lawyers today."

"Really?" Kenny said surprised. "I talked to Max last night, but she didn't say anything. Although she said they both came in and wanted to go over what was going to happen today."

"Littleton said she was holding up well," Jimmy said a little softer, knowing that Kenny was worried about her. "She's strong, stronger then she thinks right now."

"I know," Kenny replied. "I just want her to know that I'm here if she needs anything."

"She knows," Jimmy replied, seeing the emotions that Kenny struggled to keep hidden. "They'll be plenty of time for that once she gets this all straightened out."

Kenny shot his boss a look. "For what?"

Jimmy sighed at Kenny's denial. "Nothing. I want to see that report when you're done with it."

**888888888888888888**

Danny just continued to stare at his wife, and he thought he was seeing a ghost. Dressed in a simple blue wrap dress with her burgundy hair pulled back from her face, she stood there alive and well.

"We have our testimony," Wambaugh said smugly, laying a protective hand on Max's shoulder.

"Where have you been?" Danny cried. "I thought you were dead! How could you let me think that, Maxine? Do you know what I went through when I thought I lost you? You're my wife! Mine! You're not supposed to do stuff like this!"

Max swallowed at the familiar anger she saw in his eyes, and it took everything she had not to run out of the room and hide. Instead she turned to Tom. "It's good to see you again, Tom. How are the kids?"

"Fine," he stuttered, as he looked at the woman who he had though was dead. "Uh, I heard the rumors, but I never expected to see you turn up here."

"I'm full of surprises," she said evenly, sliding into the chair next to Littleton, as Wambaugh sat on the other side of her.

"Where have you been?" Danny repeated lowly.

"Away," Max said vaguely, not quite looking at him.

"Tell me. Now," Danny demanded. "You are my wife."

"Not for much longer," Max retorted, daring to sneak a glance at him. "That's why we're all here."

"Really? You think that anyone would think that I abused you? Do you not remember who I am? You are not divorcing me Maxine," Danny said, sounding perfectly rational. "I will not allow it."

"You don't have a choice," Littleton interjected. "We're ready to go forward with the spouse abuse charges, as well as the divorce. I see that you already lost your spot at the hospital, I know these kinds of allegations must make you look bad."

"What about her? She faked her death," Danny argued. "Who should believe anything that she says?"

"Danny," Tom cut in, kicking his client under the table. "This has all come as a shock to us, and I need some time to go over the files with my client. If we plan to contest the divorce, it will complicate things indeed. Let me talk to my client, and maybe we can work something out in regard to the criminal proceedings as well."

"There is nothing to work out. We're not divorcing and these charges will be laughed out of court," Danny said rising. "Let's go. Maxine, I expect to see you at home tonight. Do not make me come looking for you. We are going to have a party."

Max swallowed as he left the room, the doors swinging closed behind him. Slumping back against the chair, she tried to collect her thoughts.

"I hope you're not planning on going with him," Wambaugh asked.

Max shot him a dark look. "I'm not that stupid. God, what did I ever see in him? Did he always act like that?"

"More or less," Littleton replied, standing. "Are you ready to face the reporters outside again?"

Max shrugged. "Oh why not?"

**888888888888888888**

"She looks like a deer trapped in the headlights Jimmy," Jill said a few days later pointing to Max's picture in the paper. "At least they're making Danny out to be the sloth that he is."

"He's denying everything," Jimmy said skimming the article. "And calling her a deceitful and unstable woman, who he wants to get well. I think the medical records alone will show that he hurt her. If this thing goes to trial."

"Why wouldn't it?" Jill asked.

Jimmy shrugged. "Max wants a divorce more then anything else, and if she can use the criminal charges to expedite that, I think she will. The damage to Danny's reputation will probably be enough retribution for her."

"He should be locked up," Jill said quietly. "And his license should be taken away, that man has no business practicing medicine."

"It's not our choice," Jimmy replied stoically, privately hoping that Max would stick it to Danny. "She'll do what she thinks is right."

**888888888888888888**

"What did he say?" Max asked as Littleton hung up the phone four days after their first meeting with Danny.

"Not good," he sighed. "Danny refuses to grant you a divorce, unless we drop the criminal charges against him. All of them."

"So he just gets away with it? So he can do this again to someone else," Max asked sharply. "He killed our baby."

Littleton looked up, and was surprised by her outburst because he thought that she just wanted her freedom from him. "You want him thrown in prison?"

"He deserves to be," Max replied. He nearly killed me, he did kill our baby. He's sick and…he destroyed everything about me. "And when I saw him that time and the way he acted . . . He shouldn't be allowed to . . . he is crazy. I have to think about this."

"Okay," Littleton said. "They want to meet again tomorrow, and I know Danny wants this settled as quickly as possible. The more press, the more damaging to his practice."

Max nodded. "I know, I know."

**888888888888888888**

"Mrs. Shreve, ," voices called out to Max as they made their way into the courthouse. "Please! We just have a few questions for you!"

Max ducked her head, and let Wambaugh drag her through the swarm of reporters as Littleton kept repeating. "No comment. No comment."

Slamming the doors shut behind them, the hum of courthouse activity seemed almost quiet compared to the calamity outside. Max took a deep breath, and glanced around, afraid that Danny was here watching her already. No sign, Max thought, and she was glad about it. Shooting a glance at her lawyers, Max knew that she would be eternally grateful to them for the rest of her life. They're such good people, and ever I hurt them so much, they're still doing this for me.

"I have to go to the ladies room," Max said, gesturing down the hallway.

"We have time," Littleton answered, doing his own sweep of the hallway for Danny. "I'll walk you down."

Max shot him a humorless look and shrugged. "I can go to the bathroom by myself, and I don't think that any reporters are going to shove a microphone under the stall door."

Littleton tried not to smile at her stubbornness, and was glad to see some spark of life return to her. "Go on, we'll wait here."

Max gave them both a grateful grin, and sauntered into the restroom. Relishing in the privacy, she pondered if her life would ever have any of that again. I can't have television cameras following me around all of the time, she thought, and I don't want my face plastered across supermarket tabloids either. How do I get myself into these situations? Sighing, made her way to the sink and took in her reflection. Careful makeup hid the circles under her eyes, and her gray dress made her look too somber and serious for her own liking. Shaking her head at her predicament, she made her way toward the door.

"Hey," she cried, feeling strong hands grab her from behind. "What do you think that you are doing?"

"Spending quality time with my wife," Danny's voice whispered in her ear, as he lowered his mouth to her neck,"You've missed me. I can tell."

"Let go of me!" Max cried again, struggling against his hands. "Danny! You're hurting me!"

"Let's stop this silliness Maxine," he replied, kissing her hard on her mouth. "I expected you home days ago, and I was very disappointed that you chose not to obey me. After deceiving me the way you did, it was the least that you could do."

"I hate you," she whispered, as he whirled her around. "I hate you! You killed our baby!"

"You love me," he said flatly. "You're not divorcing me, and we are going to tell your lawyers that right now. We'll go home, and everything will be as it was before."

"No," Max said softly but firmly, his presence disgusting her. "Let me go!"

"Don't argue with me," Danny growled, flinging her against the wall, and she fell to the floor.

Max struggled to sit up, and it was a pointless endeavor as his foot connected with her stomach. Gasping for air, she glared at him as he advanced on her. "Don't touch me," she choked out. "It's not going to work this time! I'm not letting you hurt me anymore!"

Max didn't dive quickly enough as his fist connected with her face, and her head smashed against the wall behind her. The edges of her world blurred, as he struck her again. Gathering her remaining strength, she screamed.


	9. Settlements

-1"She's okay?" Kenny asked nervously as Jimmy hung up the phone after talking to Littleton. "Jimmy?"

Jimmy nodded slowly. "Bastard. He cornered her in the bathroom, and knocked her around. Littleton said she has some bruises and a mild concussion. The upside is that Danny is being held without bail, and the divorce is being pushed through. Even his own lawyers don't want anything to do with him."

Kenny tried not to think of that man hurting Max, and he wanted to fly out to Greenwich and slug him. "They're coming back?"

Jimmy nodded again. "Trial is set, but there is talk of pleading it out. Wambaugh and Littleton were talking attempted murder, and we all know Max doesn't want to rehash her ordeal in court over and over."

"What then? Assault?" Kenny asked.

"I don't know yet, you'll have to ask her yourself," Jimmy replied neutrally. "She is your roommate after all."

"I wonder," Kenny trailed off, as the thought that had been haunting him since Max had come back to him entered his mind. "Do you think she'll go back to Seattle?"

"I doubt it," Jimmy answered swiftly. "But nothing would surprise me now."

Kenny nodded, and hoped that she would stay in Rome for good.

**99999999999999999**

Max looked at her reflection in the hospital room mirror, and she tried not to cringe away from it. It certainly wasn't the worst beating Danny had ever given her, but he tended to hit her in places that weren't visible if she was dressed. A bruise ran down the left side of her face, and out onto her cheek. Finger marks were pressed into her neck, and her head throbbed where he had slammed her against the wall. Closing her eyes, she remembered screaming her head off in vague hope that someone would hear her. Bailiffs, judges and lawyers, including hers and Danny's had rushed into the room and pried her psycho husband off of her. He is going to jail, she thought, and I'm getting my divorce. It's over.

"Knock, knock," Wambaugh called from the doorway.

"Hi," Max replied with a weak smile, letting her hair fall over most of her bruise. Wambaugh caught the revealing movement, but didn't let on.

"Ready for another swarm of reporters?" he asked. "You look like you've been through a war."

"It's been worse," Max commented dryly.

Wambaugh nodded sadly. "It shouldn't have been. He's not getting out anytime soon Max, and you got in a good shot of your own."

"Yeah," she agreed, remembering her knee connecting with his groin.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a cultured female voice said from the doorway. "I didn't know you had company."

"Michelle," Max asked, shocked to see the woman there. "Uh, hi. It's been awhile."

"Yes it has," she agreed, glancing at Wambaugh. "I never thought I would see you again. After two years of friendship you just disappear without a trace, and show up with this ridiculous tale of abuse?"

"Ridiculous tale?" Max repeated. "You're serious?"

"Danny would never have hurt you," Michelle insisted wildly. "I remember him that night at my party, and he was so attentive with you. He grew up here and never would have hurt a fly. He is a doctor for gods sake!"

"You're serious?" Max repeated, just staring at the woman she considered a friend. "Michelle."

"You're just bringing a bad name and reputation to our community," she hissed. "I hope you go to hell."

"Been there," Max shot back, feeling her own temper rising. "I can't wait to get out of it."

Michelle spun on her heel, and Max heard them clicking all the way down the hall.

"A friend?" Wambaugh asked finally.

"I thought so," Max answered. "Apparently not."

Wambaugh caught her distant expression and nodded toward the door, "Come on, lets go home."

**99999999999999999**

"I was worried about you," Kenny said softly in her ear, a few nights later after Littleton and Wambaugh dropped her off, "Somehow seeing you on TV and in the papers made everything seem worse."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "I'm not too fond of being in there myself. This isn't how I envisioned my 15 minutes of fame."

Kenny tried not to stare at the dark purple bruise running down her face, and the awkward way she shifted her body because of her four broken ribs. "Max?"

"Kenny."

"Uh, what are you planning on doing now? With the divorce going through, and the trial . . is there even going to be one?"

Max shook her head. "Probably not. Littleton and Wambaugh came at Danny's lawyers with attempted murder, which even I know that they can't get. This thing is so big and ugly . . . I think they're going to plea it down to assault and battery, with intent. He'll spend some time in jail, his professional career is over, and I'll be free."

"Then what?" Kenny prodded gently.

Max shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's weird you know? I have this completely empty slate in front of me, and an opportunity to start over again."

Kenny didn't like the ominous tone of her statement, and feared that it meant that she would leave again. That I could lose her again. "Meaning?"

"Well I can't sleep on your futon forever," Max said with a smile. "I need to pull my life together again Kenny. Apparently I'm getting a settlement from Danny, and I don't want his money."

"So don't take it," he said simply. "Or think of it as combat pay."

"I'll figure out something to do with it," she said vaguely. "Combat pay?"

"You don't have to leave to start over," Kenny said cautiously. "You've got people here who care about you Max. C'mon, let us help you."

"I think I need to take care of myself," Max replied quietly. "Danny always thought that I couldn't handle anything, and after I left him . . . I kind of made a mess of everything. All of you have been wonderful to me, Kenny, and I love you all for it. I need to figure this out for myself."

"You don't have to do it alone," he insisted. "You've been alone for too long anyway."

Max smiled shyly at him. "I never realized . . . how much I missed this. Growing up in my parent's house never really felt like home, it was just a place I lived. Neither did that monstrosity in Greenwich. Here . . . yes."

"Jimmy will give you your job back in a second," Kenny added, feeling hopeful.

Max shook her head. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for that anymore. I've been kicked around to much lately."

"You're tougher then that," Kenny answered swiftly. "Believe me, I know."

"Maybe," Max agreed. "It's something to think about. With my combat pay I don't have to worry about getting a job right away, although it would be nice to do something useful again. I decided a long time ago that arranging flowers is the most pointless thing ever. I could feel myself growing dumber the longer I did it. Why can't I just stuff them into a vase and be done with it?"

"So should we cross off florist from your list," Kenny asked, aching to touch her as she babbled. God, I want to touch her, kiss her, I need to touch her.

"Yeah," she said, collapsing down onto the couch next to him. "I was a great bartender, and made killer tips.

Kenny caught sight of the bruise that she tried to keep hidden with her hair, and it made him sick to think of Danny doing that to her for years. Joining her on the couch, he couldn't help but brush her hair off of her cheek. She shot him a sideways look as he ran his fingers through her hair and tried not to cringe as he looked at her bruises. "I'm sure you were."

"It looks worse then it is," she said hoarsely. "Really."

"It shouldn't be there to begin with," Kenny said lowly, his hand still tangled in her long hair.

"Never again," Max said softly, turning to face him. Swallowing she looked at the man who had been her best friend and partner and in the past few weeks had helped her regain some of her life back. She felt tingles shoot across her body as he slowly brought his hand down her cheek. Oh god, Max thought, what are we doing here? She slowly brought her hand to his chest, as his other arm circled her waist.

"Max," he managed to get out, as he stared into her eyes and lost all rational thought.

Max ignored the soreness running through her body, and struggled to respond. "Oh, Kenny."

A piercing ring blasted through the silent living room, and she all but jumped out of his arms. Kenny snatched it off of the receiver, as she sat up a bit and tried to collect her thoughts about what had just happened.

"Yeah, she's here. Hold on," Kenny said, passing the phone to her. "It's Sam. From Seattle."

Max took it silently, as he stood. Part of her wanted to just toss the phone down, and figure out what had just happened, but Sam…He's…We were good together, he was so great. Are we…I thought he hated me. "Hi," she said finally, as Kenny went into the kitchen. "How are you?

"How am I? What about you? You're all anyone can talk about here," Sam replied, happy to hear her voice. "Are you okay? We read about what your husband did to you in the paper."

"Sam, I'm fine," Max insisted, her happiness at hearing his voice surprising her. "He's locked up, and he is going to be for awhile."

"Good, good," Sam answered. "We're pulling for you."

"Thanks."

"I miss you," he blurted out. "As mad as I was about you lying to me, I really miss being with you."

"Sam, I," Max responded dumbfounded. He should hate me. "I don't know what to say."

"Come back. We can start over again," Sam pleaded. "I didn't want to call earlier because I knew you had a lot to handle, but I really want to see you again."

"I don't know Sam," she sighed, wanting to see him. "I still have a lot I need to work through."

"What can't you do from here?" he countered.

"I need to be here right now," Max replied, realizing then it was true. "These people are my friends Sam, and I need and want to be with them."

"What about us? Everyone out here? We need you too," Sam answered. "Plus, you were a great bartender."

"Sam," Max said patiently. "I need to figure out what I'm doing again. Everything is kind of up in the air right now…I liked tending bar for you."

"Will you come back?" he asked after a brief hesitation.

Max paused. "I don't know. Maybe. I really don't know what I'm going to do after the divorce is final. My parents hate me, I'm unemployed, living out of a suitcase and sleeping on my friend's futon…and reporters are stalking me."

"Feel better?"

"Yeah," Max said, smiling to herself. "Thanks, Sam."

"Good luck," Sam replied, sounding disappointed, "Can I call you later? I miss you."

I miss you too, she realized, oh no. "I'd like that, Sam. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

She glanced over Kenny pretending to be busy in the kitchen. And what was that earlier? He glanced up and met her gaze, and she knew that they had to talk about it.

"How is your friend?" he asked finally.

"Good," Max replied, joining him in the kitchen, and he passed her a beer. "He wanted to know when I was coming back to Seattle."

"Are you?"

"I think I've answered that already."

Kenny swallowed at her closeness and wanted nothing more to pull her into his arms again. "You don't have to stay if you don't want too."

"I want too," she said softly, wanting to know what had happened on the couch earlier. Were we going to? Me and Kenny, we can't…not us. "I'm not running anymore. From anything."

Kenny caught her drift, and groaned as the phone rang again. "Hello? Hey, Jimmy . . . What? I'll be right there."

Max watched him as he hung up, and pondered about what had happened in Rome now.

"Hey, I've gotta go Max," he said grabbing his gun from the locked kitchen drawer. "We might have found our murderer."

"Okay."

He turned to her before he walked out the door and their eyes met. Both smiling slightly, he waved as he shut the door.

**99999999999999999**

"We can't win Danny," Tom said smoothly. "You assaulted her at the court house for God's sake! I never wanted to believe that you ever touched her, but now . . . you're lucky they don't nail you with attempted murder. We should accept their assault charge and be happy with it."

"I'm not going to jail," Danny seethed. "I'm not like those people! All I want is my wife back! She'll come around."

"I doubt that," Tom replied, remembering the mad way that his client attacked her that day. "Attempted murder is 20 years, assault is half that. Plus, good behavior, you'll be out in six, maybe seven years. Give her the divorce, and you'll still be young when you get out. There is no other way."

"She is my wife," Danny repeated flatly. "I love her."

"If you do, you should want to make her happy," Tom countered. "Maybe if you give her what she wants now, she might come around by the time your free."

"Maybe," Danny agreed reluctantly. "She should have never deceived me like this."

"We all make bad choices," Tom agreed. "Should I make the deal?"

"Make it," Danny spat.

**99999999999999999**

"It's official," Wambaugh declared after Max had signed all of the papers.

"I never thought I would be happy to get a divorce," she replied dryly. "Or to send my husband to jail."

"It's not like he doesn't deserve it," Wambaugh replied, as she handed him the papers back. "I heard some network wants to make a movie of the week about all of this."

"Yeah, and they want me to write a book," Max added, shaking her head. "I don't want my entire life out there for the world to see. I would like some privacy still."

"It'll die down."

"I know. Soon, I hope. I want to be normal again."

"Normal? Here? Wrong town lady."

Max smiled. "You're right about that. How soon until the divorce is official?"

"It usually takes a few months, but there are circumstances here. Besides the fact that he is about to be shipped off to prison and you were dead for a year . . . it complicates things a little," Wambaugh said seriously, "We're going to push it through for you."

"Thanks," Max said with a grin. "I mean it . . . Both you and Littleton have gone above and beyond, and I don't really know what to say to make you understand what that means to me."

Wambaugh smiled fondly at her and extended his hand. "I always fight for the little guy. I'll see you tonight."

**99999999999999999**

"You look great," Kenny said giving her a once over. "Really beautiful, Max."

"You think," she said adjusting the straps on her camisole. Glancing at her fading bruise that was unnoticeable to anyone but her, she decided that the black, green and white embroidered knee length skirt and white top were appropriate for her belated welcome home, congratulations on your divorce, hey you're not dead party.

"Would I lie to you?" he teased, taking her hand in his, and twirling her around. "You look great. You always look great."

Max smiled, as she stepped back from him. We have to talk about this, she thought, whatever this thing going on between us now is. God, I'm not sure I'm ready to get into another relationship…especially with him. There is too much…I can't…"Kenny? I know we're on our way out, but . . . uh, what are we doing?"

He looked over at the woman he wished was in his arms, and he saw all the confusion and doubts in her eyes. I swore that I wouldn't rush her, he thought. "I'm not sure. Max . . . you've been through a lot, and if you're not comfortable with all of this . . . tell me."

She shook her head. "I'm still not sure what this is, and I've never been uncomfortable with you. I have a lot of issues Kenny, probably more then I realize. I don't want to jump into something that I'm not ready for."

"Okay," he replied, as she looked up at him.

"I want to be ready for this," she continued shyly.

Kenny nodded, and tilted her face up so he could look at her. She smiled at him, and brought her mouth gently to his. He let his hands rest on her waist, as he kissed her just as softly back. She pulled away slowly, and could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"No pressure," Kenny managed to choke out.

"Thanks," Max responded, thinking that the kiss that they just shared turned her on more then anything in her two year marriage. "Um. We should probably get going."

"Yeah," Kenny replied, trying to find his footing again. He tossed her jacket over, and yanked the door open/ "Whoa. What are you doing here?"

He heard Max come up behind him, and he fought the urge to pull her close to him again.

"Sam? Oh my god! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Seattle," Max cried, glad to see him. Hugging him, she snuggled into his embrace.

He shrugged, squeezing her back. "I knew you weren't coming back, at least any time soon, so I decided to come here. I had a trip planned anyway."

"Your parents," Max stated, as they stood with their arms wrapped around each other. "I wish you told me. How long are you here for?"

"A few days, five," he replied. "It looks like you're going out, but . . ."

"Yeah. It's a welcome home, congrats on your divorce, and a hey your not dead party," Max said wryly. "Uh, you remember Kenny?"

"Of course," Sam replied extending his hand. "Good to see you again. I guess you've been taking good care of my girl?"

Max willed Kenny not to say anything, and tried not to be embarrassed by Sam calling her his girl. She felt Kenny's eyes on her, as Sam kept his other arm around her.

"I'm trying too," he replied evenly. "She doesn't always make it easy."

Max shot him a dark look, as Sam chuckled. "I know. I know. I don't want to keep you from your party tonight . . ."

Max glanced up at Kenny before responding. "You can come if you want to Sam. It's at O'Calleighs Pub. You should come.

"I might," he replied. "I'd love to meet your friends Ab-, er Max. I'm kind of tired from my flight though, I'd love to see you tomorrow. Lunch or something?"

Max nodded, as he hugged her tightly to him. Oh, I did miss him. "Okay. Give me a call I guess."

"I will," he said nodding, letting her go. "Tomorrow."

They watched him go in silence, both somewhat shocked by his sudden appearance before Kenny finally spoke up. "We should probably get going."

"Kenny," Max faltered noting his disappointed tone. "I didn't know that he was coming."

"Why shouldn't he? He is your boyfriend," Kenny replied a little more sharply then he intended to.

Max took an involuntary step back, and tried not to feel frightened. This is Kenny, she thought, he would never hurt you. Kenny caught her movement, and could have kicked himself for scaring her like that.

"Max, I'm not going to do that to you," he added. "Never."

"I know," she replied, hating that she would ever think that. "I guess some habits are hard to break."

"I'm not mad," he continued, although a little jealous he thought. "You don't owe me anything, whatever is going on with us now . . . I already told you that I'm not going to force anything on you that you're not ready for."

"Thanks," she said softly. "We should probably go. There is fashionably late, then just being rude."

**99999999999999999**

"He just showed up? Tonight?" Skeeter asked incredulously. "Was this a serious romance she was having out there?"

Kenny shook his head, thinking about how Max smiled at him, jumped into his arms. "She was vague about it there."

"Is he going to show up here?" Carter chimed in, wondering about the man that Max was dating out there.

"She invited him," Kenny answered, glancing over at her as she chatted with Jill.

**99999999999999999**

"I feel like I've hardly seen you since you've been back," Jill said.

Max shrugged. Sam, god, Sam. And Kenny. "Well I was in Connecticut for awhile. And I was licking my wounds too. This whole thing, even after almost two months . . . I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing."

"You seem like you're pulling it together," Jill commented.

"I'm trying," Max said with a smile. "I want to put all of this behind me, and move on. These last few years . . . yuck."

Jill caught Kenny's glance over in their direction, and smiled to herself at his obvious feelings for Max.. The way that he looked at her was the same way Jimmy used to watch her when they first got together.

"Things will get better," Jill said wisely to her young friend. "Have you thought about what you want to do?"

"There is a halfway house outside Etna that called me," Max said. "They're looking for someone who has been an abuse victim to come in and talk to the women there. I'm thinking about it, but I don't know if I have enough distance from my own experiences yet."

"You would be really good at that," Jill said. "Consider it. We don't want to lose you again."

"I am," Max affirmed. A new life. "You're stuck with me."

**99999999999999999**

Kenny watched the clock at the station the next morning, and tried not to feel jealous of the fact that Max was going out with her Seattle boyfriend in a few minutes. He didn't think that the possessive thing would go over to well with her anyway. Flipping through the arrest folder of their murderer, he tired to block out thoughts of his personal life, but they kept coming back to her. It had been easier to ignore these feelings years ago, but suddenly they were front and center. Kenny doubted that they were going anywhere either.

"Kenny," Jimmy called, heading toward the interrogation room. "Wambaugh and Littleton are here. Lets go in."

Kenny flipped his file closed, and forced himself to push his thoughts of Max out of his head as he followed his boss into the room.

**99999999999999999**

"Does it ever stop snowing here?" Sam asked as Max opened the door. "I never have seen so much snow before."

"It'll stop," Max promised, as he kissed her. "Hi. I like it better then the rain."

"I've missed you," he said, as she wrapped her arms around him. "You look great. Is your friend here."

"Kenny went to work," Max replied. "We just haven't cleaned in awhile, and we're starting to build a new room out of beer cans and pizza boxes. Some things just don't change, no matter how much time goes by."

"You two are close?" Sam asked. "How long are you planning on staying with him?"

"I don't know," Max replied quietly. "We're close, we've always been friends and I know he is in no hurry to kick me out. We have fun together, and we're sort of rebuilding our old relationship. I can talk to him about everything, Sam, and we know each other really well."

"You can talk to me," Sam replied carefully. "I thought we were building something of our own."

"We were. Are," Max sighed, as they made their way down the stairs toward Sam's car. "It's different with me and Kenny…we've known each other a long time. It was a different life, Sam. I was trying to be someone that I wasn't, and now I'm finally starting to put everything back together again. I feel like myself again, at least most of the time."

"I know that you're not moving back to Seattle," Sam stated. "I can see it in you eyes."

Max shook her head. "I kind of decided that when I walked off the plane in Greenbay, I felt like I was home again. This is where I belong Sam, these people are my family. My parents and sister really don't care about me, but I can't imagine a life without them again. I loved my life, Abby's life, in Seattle. I love you."

"Ah, Max," he sighed, kissing her again. "Lets go back to my hotel."

**99999999999999999**

"She's out with him?" Jimmy asked, after he, Skeeter, and Kenny finished interrogating their murderer. "When did he get here?"

"Last night," Kenny said dryly. "He missed his girl, as he so put it."

"His girl," Jimmy commented, noting Kenny's obvious unhappiness about Max being out on what more or less was a date.

"He won't be here long. Doesn't he have a bar to run or something?" Jimmy commented. "I thought that he didn't want anything to do with her, after everything that happened. Hell, she isn't even divorced yet."

"And she already has two guys fighting over her," Skeeter added.

"Two?" Kenny asked numbly.

"Yeah, this Sam guy and you. Don't deny it," Skeeter said with a grin. "It was obvious three years ago, and it still is now. You're crazy about her."

Jimmy nodded in agreement, and they reminded him of himself and Jill with the way they looked at each other. "The two of you have a second chance, and those don't come around that often."

Kenny looked at his two friends, and as much as he didn't want to admit it to anyone else, they were right. "Whatever it is between the two of us . . . Max has been through a lot recently, and we're not rushing into anything."

**99999999999999999**

"That was amazing," Sam groaned, as they laid tangled in the sheets together. "You're amazing."

Max snuggled in close, laying her head on his shoulder. "Mm, it always was. I love you, Sam."

He kissed her again. "I love you too. I have to tell you something. This feels right to me, and I didn't want to tell you this earlier."

"Tell me what?" Max asked nervously, looking over at him. "Sam?"

"I'm moving here," Sam said with a grin. "My family is in Greenbay, and you're here. It just seems like destiny to me. I know we have a lot to work out, but I know we can work it all out."

Max smiled at him, and kissed him again. "Yeah?"

"I want to spend our lives together. I want to know the real you."

Max smiled, as he held her close to him. "I'd like that."


	10. Admissions

-1"Kenny," Max said hesitantly, as she walked into his apartment the next morning. "Hi."

"Where were you?" he asked. "I thought you were still sleeping…Max? You're just getting home?"

"Yeah, uh, it got late," she stammered. "I slept at Sam's hotel."

"You did?"

Max nodded, not quite meeting his gaze. "You know his family is from Greenbay? He's moving here."

"Is that what you want?" Kenny asked carefully. "Max?"

She turned to look at him. "What? We were dating for over a year…He was so good to me, we were happy until you and Jimmy showed up and my life imploded. I love him, Kenny."

He felt his heart break in that instant, and gulped back everything he wanted to tell her. She started a whole other life out there, became someone else. She doesn't want…she should do what makes her happy. "Hey, that's great. When?"

"A few weeks."

"Great," Kenny said again, forcing himself to smile at her. She's happy, let her be happy. No, I don't want to lose her again! "Damn it, Max!"

"What?" she asked, staring at him. "Kenny? What?"

He pulled her toward him, and devoured her mouth with his. Feeling her stiffen in her arms, he probed her mouth with his tongue. Getting no response beside her shocked stiffness. "Max, I love you. I've been in love with you for a long time."

"You're in love with me?" she repeated numbly. "Kenny?"

He looked as shocked about his outburst as she did and didn't say anything right away. Making his way over to the couch he sat down and tried to form a sentence together. Max took a few tentative steps closer, and gingerly perched on the other side.

"Max," he began faltering, and not knowing what to say to her. "Yes."

"Yes," she repeated again. "Yes? When?"

Kenny shook his head. "I . . . it seems like forever. I want you. I've always wanted you."

Max willed herself to cry, but couldn't help but brush a few stray tears off of her cheeks. I can't do this…Divorce, Sam…I can't do this with Kenny.

"I thought I lost you ,Max, and I never got over it. I don't want to lose you again."

Kenny, no, she thought, no. Leaping to her feet, she backed away from him. "No. Stop."

"Max?" he asked, as she fumbled for the door. "Max, hey, wait."

"I can't do this with you."

**101010101010**

"He what?" Jimmy sputtered into the phone. "When?"

He nodded as the voice on the other end filled him in on the situation. Cursing under his breath he paced the length of his kitchen, and mentally began to prepare what he was going to say. He felt Jill's gaze upon him, and shook his head in disgust.

"Thanks for calling," he said, as he digested the full story and hung up the phone. He turned to his wife. "I've got to go out for awhile."

"What's going on?" Jill asked, seeing the dark look in his eyes. "Jimmy?"

Glancing at the clock, he sighed. "Have a seat, I'll fill you in. I'm not looking forward to doing this."

Jill settled in next to her husband, and he began to tell her of what he had just learned.

**101010101010**

"Max, hold on," Kenny stammered. "Hey, I, Max, would you talk to me?"

"You don't love me!" she cried. "Have you lost your mind completely? Kenny! I need to go."

"Don't you run away from me," he countered, grabbing her hand in his. "Max, listen to me!"

"Let go of me!" she screamed, shoving him away. "Don't touch me!"

"Max!" he yelped, as he caught himself on the chair. "Oh, Max, Sweetheart, I'm sorry. Please? Calm down, talk to me."

"Stay away from me," she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest, as she backed toward her room. "Just don't."

**101010101010**

"Is Max here?" Jimmy ventured, a hour later, as Kenny opened his front door. "I just got a phone call, and there is something she has to know."

"Sure, hold on," Kenny replied, his mind still reeling from her reaction to him. I kissed her a few nights ago, and she didn't…I think she was asleep, or something."

"How is she doing?"

She hates me, he thought, I thought…Sam. She said she loved him. How could I just kiss her like that? "She's up and down… Hold on."

Leaving Jimmy in the living room, he knocked on her door gently. "Max, hate me later. Jimmy's here. He has some information for you. Max? Hello?"

She opened the door reluctantly, his kiss still stinging her lips. He loves me? Kenny loves me? A long time? Oh, I can't do this with him. Not Kenny, never, Kenny. "Okay, thanks."

"Max?" he started, as she pushed past him and walked toward the living room.

"Hi," she said, purposely ignoring Kenny. "What's going on?"

"I just got a call from Greenwich," he began, as she joined him on the couch. "And Sean faxed this over for you to read."

"Okay," Max said quietly. "Why?"

I hate this part, Jimmy thought. "Max . . . Danny hung himself last night."

She stared at him for a long instant, and her mind went utterly blank. She felt someone sit down beside her on the couch, and the world seemed to blur around the edges.

"Max," Jimmy asked carefully, catching Kenny's eye.

"Is he?" she trailed off in a voice barely above a whisper.

Jimmy nodded to her silent question. "Yes. They found him a few hours ago, and they couldn't do anything."

Max shook her head. "He's dead? Are you sure?"

Jimmy nodded again. "He left you this."

Max took the folded piece of paper gingerly, and turned it over in her hands as if it might bite her.

"Jimmy," Kenny asked, forgetting about his own hurt at the shock on her face. "This is for real? What the hell happened?"

He shrugged and shot a look at a shocked Max. He knew that despite the way her marriage and life of the past few years had ended up, the news had to effect her in some way. "I didn't read it, but we're going to get a full report on it from Sean. They don't know where he got the rope, but they're looking into all of it."

"He's dead," Max repeated flatly, not hearing them. How can he be dead, her mind screamed, he just killed himself? Shock, surprise, confusion, guilt and mild glee flooded her mind as she tried to decide on how she felt about it.

Jimmy noted how much she had paled since he had told her. "I don't know what is going to happen next, but the story is going to hit the papers tomorrow Max. You might want to lay low."

She nodded. "I can't believe that he is gone . . . He was my husband . . . I should feel devastated, but . . . I don't."

"You don't owe him your grief," Kenny said softly. "He doesn't deserve it."

"Legally he was your husband," Jimmy added. "You haven't thought of him that way in a long time."

"I know," she said softly, as she looked at both of them. "It's just that . . ."

"That what?" Kenny prodded.

"Nothing," she said shaking her head. "I just need . . . I don't know what to do."

The three of them lapsed into silence, as Max tried to figure out what came next.

**101010101010**

"Max?" Kenny called through the bathroom door, after Jimmy had left, "Did you fall in?"

She turned away from her exhausted expression, and pulled the door open. She fingered the folded letter in her pocket, and as much as she dreaded to read it she knew she would have to at some point. "No."

Kenny swallowed at her pale expression, and thought of the smile and happiness he had seen earlier. When she came back from seeing him. He hated that even in death that Danny could still hurt her like this. He tilted her head up, so he could look into her eyes. "I don't know what to say to make this better for you. Do you want to call Sam?"

Sam, Max thought, he doesn't…I want to go back. Oh, I miss being Abby right now. "I'm going out. I'll see you tomorrow."

**101010101010**

"How is she taking the news?" Littleton asked Jimmy the next morning after reading the article on Danny's death.

"Shocked," he answered dryly. "Not upset, but she can't believe it."

"He was awful to her," Littleton said. "Even when we saw him a few weeks ago, demanding and controlling. He ordered her to come home with him. His fiance is talking to the press, defending him still."

"At least she didn't marry him," Jimmy replied,. "The press is eating it up. She wants to move on, but it just isn't happening yet."

"What about the note that he left her? Did you?" Littleton trailed off.

Jimmy shook his head. "It was addressed to Max."

**101010101010**

"Hi," Max said softly that same morning, rolling over onto her side.

"Hi yourself," Sam replied, leaning into to kiss her. "You get any sleep?"

She nodded. "More then I thought I would. I guess I kind of burned out with it all."

"Yeah," he agreed, watching her look away quickly. "What?"

"I'm glad that he is dead," she said softly, "It sounds awful . . . Am I a horrible person? Sam, he hurt me so much, for so long . . . It's like this burden has been lifted, and . . . a man is dead."

"No," he replied firmly. "He never should have laid a hand on you, Max. Ever."

She nodded silently and changed the subject. "We should get up."

Glancing at the clock. "I'm going to look at houses, want to come?"

"I can't , I have to meet with my lawyers. Tonight?"

**101010101010**

"So it's over? Just like that? It just doesn't seem quite right to me," Max asked Wambaugh and Littleton that same morning.

"There's more," Littleton said. "He never changed his will after you died, so that makes you the sole beneficiary."

"I don't want his money," Max balked.

"That's a good thing because his fiancé is talking about suing you for it," Wambaugh added.

Max groaned. "She's welcome to it. I met her when we first moved there, and I didn't like her then. Now, after reading what she said about me to the press, I think that she and Danny may have been a perfect pair."

"Lying and unstable shrew," Wambaugh quoted from the article. "You want to settle? The money is yours as of now, but we can give her some to make it go away."

"Please do," Max insisted. "Anything connected with that life . . . I just don't want it anymore. I'll never forget it, but . . ."

"I understand," Littleton agreed. "I'll make the deal."

Max nodded distantly before turning back to them. "Thank you, I mean that, for all of this. I'm not sure where I would be without the two of you. Actually without any of you."

"That's what friends do Max," Littleton said gently. "You're not the first person to ever screw up their life, and I doubt you'll be the last."

"Thanks," she said again, knowing what she would do with the bulk of Danny's money then.

**101010101010**

"Max?"

She spun on her heel, to see Kenny standing behind her. "Hi."

He glanced back toward Littleton's office. "Everything okay?"

"Great."

"Max, hold up. Can I talk to you?"

She bit her lip, not knowing what to say to him. "Aren't you working?"

Stubborn, he thought, glad to see some life back in her. I love her, how could I just kiss her? She hates me…Sam isn't a bad guy, she should be happy. "I know you're mad, Max, I didn't mean…I just missed you so much, I'm so glad that you're alive. Here, even if you hate me."

She stared at him for a long moment, processing what he was saying to her. "I could never hate you."

"You never wanted us to find you. You would have been happy staying in Seattle, being Abby, letting everyone think you were dead."

Max turned over in her head everything that had happened. Scared, I was so scared before I ended up in Seattle. Be someone else, start over…I would of. I was never coming back. Danny's dead…Everyone knows…My baby is dead.

"You were going to let me think you were dead."

"I was awful to you when I left. I didn't think you wanted to see me."

"You were the only person I wanted to see. I had so much to say to you. Max, you and me…If you're happy with Sam, I'm glad for you."

Liar, Max thought, seeing how he looked away from her. He doesn't love me, he just wants me in bed. That's all…I can't… "I was scared, alone, I didn't want to deal with everything…I just lost my baby. I didn't want to be me anymore."

"You could of called me."

Max gulped, seeing how much she had hurt him. "And tell you what?"

"That you needed help!"

"You don't want to help me! All you want to do is get me into bed with you!"

He stepped back, staring at her for a long moment. "You think that is what I want? You're impossible! I meant it, Max, I love you, I've always loved you, and all I want is for you to be happy."

"You don't love me! You never would of let me go if you did!"

Kenny stepped back, staring at her for a long moment. "What? Max…"

She wiped her tears away. "You don't love me! You just want to sleep with me! This, us…no! Just leave me alone."

He crossed the empty hallway to her, and grabbed her hands in his. "Max, I could sleep with anyone I want. That isn't what I want from you. I love you, Sweetheart, and…if I have to…I don't want to walk away from this, but I want you to be happy."

She jerked herself away, not wanting to feel his hands on her. "I'm going to go pack."


	11. Bloodstains

-1"Wait," Kenny said. "Max, come on. Why would you…Danny. Oh, crap, that's what…Max."

She wiped her tears away, not wanting to admit it. "No."

"He told you I wanted to make you a notch on my bedpost."

"No."

"That all I wanted from you was sex."

"Stop!" Max cried. "Stay away from me!"

"Oh, Max," he sighed, his heart breaking for her, as it started to make sense. "And if he was right about that, he was right about everything else. That's it, isn't it? He was an idiot, and he should of never laid a hand on you. He shouldn't of killed your baby. I'm so sorry, I should of…He was wrong, about everything."

She shook her head, not able to deal with his words. How he knew her so well. "I need to go. Kenny, let me go."

"That's what I did the first time."

Max took a steadying breath, forcing herself to take control of her raging emotions. Not with Kenny, I can't do this with him. "That was a long time ago. We're not the same people. I don't want…I don't trust myself with you. He told me…all of that. I can't."

If he wasn't dead I would kill him, Kenny thought. Sam's safe for her. "Max…I'll never force anything on you. Don't move out. You want to get dinner tonight? We can…talk."

Max bit her lip fighting the urge to flee from him. "Okay.  
**111111111111111111111**

Too quiet, Kenny thought, glancing over at Max later that night. I didn't know…What did he do to her? Shifting his truck into park. "Hey, we're here."

"What?" Max said, shaking her dark thoughts out of her mind.. "Oh, sorry."

This isn't her, he thought, not from five years ago, from Seattle, any of it. She was due for a breakdown. Don't push her…just be her friend again. "You're a million miles away."

She pushed her door open, and slammed in behind her. What am I doing? What is he doing? Talk, he just wants to talk to me again. Kenny loves me? "It's been a rough month."

And I didn't make it easier for you. Be her friend. "You're doing great."

Max sighed, turning to look at him. "I'm sorry for not coming to you when I needed help. I think I was more embarrassed then anything else. I pushed you away, how could I expect…I'm sorry, Kenny, I'm so sorry."

"You're my best friend. I may have shoved some I told you so's in your face, but I would of helped you. I'm so glad that you're here."

He loves me, she thought again, Danny said…He wanted me, no…He's wrong. How can Kenny love me? All those years, partners, friends. "Did you mean it? When you told me you loved me?"

"Max?" he asked, as they stood looking at each other in the parking lot. "Yeah, I did. It's always been you."

She gulped, thinking of Sam…How? He's been so good to me. I can't just…Kenny. I'm not ready for this. "Kenny, I…I can't do this. I'm sorry it's not what you want to hear from me, but…This. Us."

Be her friend, he thought, that's all she wants. "Friends, then?"

Max nodded, not able to ignore the hurt in his eyes. He loves me? How can he love me? How couldn't I have known? "Yeah, let's eat."

**1111111111111111111111**

"This isn't right," Carter mumbled to himself, as he studied the autopsy report. "This is why I should autopsy everyone! Even if they're not in my jurisdiction! It just isn't consistent! Who is the moron that did this one?"

Flipping the file closed, he reached for the phone to call across the country, and try to figure out what exactly they were trying to pull.

"I should be deputized on this," he muttered again, smashing the buttons of the phone. "Hello? This is Carter Pike, and I need to speak with your medical examiner now! And I know what time it is! Just get him!"

He tapped his fingers impatiently as he waited for the man to come to the phone.

**1111111111111111111111**

Max curled up on Kenny's futon, and slowly pulled out the letter that Danny had left her after he had killed himself. Turning the envelope over in her hands, she was almost afraid to read it. Taking one last deep breath, she slid the paper out and unfolded it.

_Dear Maxine,_

_What do I say to the woman who destroyed my life? All I ever wanted to do was love you, and take care of you. Is that so wrong? I wanted to shape you into the perfect wife, and that took a lot of discipline on my part. I wanted you to fit in, but you always insisted on embarrassing me. I gave you everything and you just threw it back in my face. I don't know why I insisted on loving you the way I did with the way you wreaked havoc on my career and life._

_You were a disgrace as wife. Every bruise I ever gave you was well earned, and the fact that you lost our baby? You would have been a terrible mother anyway. It was the child's gain never to know you. I see why your parents didn't love you, and no one ever will. You're pathetic, weak and worthless._

_You want to send me to prison for abusing you? It'll never happen. I won't allow it. I would sooner die first. You couldn't even die properly. You had to fake it. I'll haunt you forever my dear wife. You'll never be free of me._

_Love always,_

_Danny_

**1111111111111111111111**

"Max," Kenny called, rapping on her door late the next morning. "You up?"

Hearing silence, he poked his head and saw the tangled mess of sheets and blankets twisted on the futon. Listening to the quiet hum of the apartment, he slowly made his way out to the living room. Glancing around in the darkness, he caught sight of the white envelope on the table. Trying to ignore the dread building in him he picked it up and opened it.

_Kenny,_

_I'm not running away, so please calm down. After last night I had some thinking to do, and I couldn't sleep. I finally opened Danny's letter as well, and it's here for you to read. I just need some time to contemplate everything. Please don't worry about me._

_Max_

He swallowed as he picked up Danny's letter and as he read it he was surprised that he could hate the bastard anymore they he did. How can he do this to her, Kenny wondered, trying to picture what her life had been like with him. Feeling the emptiness of his apartment, he sunk onto the couch cushions.

****

"Jimmy! I'm telling you the truth! I'm not crazy, these autopsy results we got aren't right! Something is missing, I know it," Carter chattered excitedly into the phone. "They're trying to cover something up!"

"What did their medical examiner say?" Jimmy asked, trying to stay patient with him at this late hour.

"Something about special rope, and how the body was cut down before the blood settled," Carter dismissed. "It's just not possible though. The body was cremated so quickly, did anyone ever identify it?"

"Yes," Jimmy verified, not wanting this thing to get dug up again for everyone's sakes. "Carter the man is dead and buried. That's the end of it!"

"Are you sure? Jimmy," Carter said firmly. "These are not conclusive results and this thing reeks of a cover up."

Jimmy groaned internally. "Drop it Carter. It's done with."

"Fine, good night," Carter relented, as they hung up,. "I know I'm right with this."

"Thank you, thank you," Carter said into the phone. "You're sure?"

He hung up, and turned back to the medical report in front of him as the fax machine hummed. Pages pored in, and excitement ran through him. He hated the havoc that this was going to bring, but Carter couldn't help feeling that he was saving the day before it was ruined. Snatching the pages from the machine, he inhaled sharply at the pictures that were faxed in from the Greenwich Police Department. Pictures of a very alive Danny Shreve dated three days after his suicide.

"Shit," Carter mumbled, grabbing his stack and racing for the door.

****

"She wouldn't just take off again," Jill theorized to her husband after they had both talked to Kenny. "Even she had to agree."

Jimmy shrugged, very unsure of where Max's head was at these days. "Usually I'd say no, but it's not like it hasn't happened before, Jill."

Jill glanced through the office window to an obviously distracted Kenny. "She has every reason to stay."

Jimmy followed his wife's train of thought and gaze toward his young deputy. "So it seems. Her boyfriend is here."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Jill sighed, as Carter burst into the office.

"I knew I was right," he said breathlessly after running all the way from the morgue. "I can prove it!"

"What, did you find semen?" Kenny commented dryly joining them.

"No! The medical reports about Danny's suicide were all wrong," Carter exclaimed. "Facts were off, details skewed! The body was cremated so soon, and I have pictures! Not of the body, but of Danny three days later after his death!"

Not possible, Kenny thought wildly. "Bullshit."

Carter dropped his pile on Jimmy's desk as the four of them skimmed through it quickly, as the missing details came into place.

"Find her," Jimmy stated, thinking Max had picked a fine time to go soul searching. "This story has too many holes for Danny not to realize that someone is going to figure it out."

**11111111111111111111111111111**

Kenny," Max called softly as she entered the dim apartment. "Hello?"

Hearing muffled footsteps from the bathroom she smiled to herself, as she tossed her purse on the sofa. Flipping on the lights, she shrugged off her jacket and contemplated her next move. Driving is more therapeutic then anything else, she mused as she thought of her conclusions. Danny isn't going to haunt me anymore, and I can do this. Kenny, damn it, Kenny… The way he looks at me, Max thought, why didn't I see it sooner? Well because we were both dumb and I really hope that we can pull it together now. I'm not letting my dumb insecurities get in the way. Her grin broadening, she slowly made her way back to the bedroom. Pausing outside the door, she heard closet doors being open and shut and drawers being slammed. He sounds kind of pissed, Max thought, hoping he wasn't too angry that she snuck out last night. Burying her fear, she pushed the door open and wished she hadn't as she stumbled back into the hallway in shock.

"You're not the only one who can fake their death," Danny sneered, following her from the ransacked bedroom.

**111111111111111111111111**

"When Max wants to disappear, she does it well," Skeeter commented, as Kenny hung up the phone. "Still not back yet?"

Kenny shook his head. "If that bastard hurts her . . ."

"We don't even know that he is here," Skeeter interjected. "He might just want to disappear too. He's facing a heavy jail sentence if he turns up."

"I don't think that matters to him," Kenny argued, as he remembered the last few lines of his letter. "He's obsessed, and Max is the only thing that matters to him."

"What about Sam?" Skeeter trailed off not wanting to bring up a touchy subject. "Nothing?"

"He's not answering his phone either, and we tried him at his parents in Green Bay," Kenny replied dully. Impulsive, she wouldn't run off with him. Not again. "I don't think she would go to him."

Jimmy joined the two men silently, not wanting to inform them of the news he had just received from Sean and the other from his own deputies. Just when we don't think that it can get any worse, Jimmy thought sadly, as he prayed for his former deputy. The two younger men turned to him, and saw the bad news written clearly on his face.

"Jimmy?" Kenny asked tentatively, fearing that something horrible had just happened to Max.

"It's not good," he stated, "And it's not Max. Sean called, and they found Amanda Morris, Danny's fiancee murdered in her house a few hours ago. Stabbed and beaten badly, and rumors of Danny not being dead are flooding Greenwich right now. The supposed cover up is going to explode in the news soon."

"Poor girl," Skeeter said sadly. "What was she? About 23?"

Jimmy nodded. "About, she never stood a chance. Secondly, we finally found Sam, and he was in almost as bad shape as she was. He's alive, but Jill said it is going to be touch and go for awhile."

"Shit," Kenny said without thinking.

"Yeah," Jimmy agreed. "We have to find Max before he does."

The three men stood in unison and began to plan out their next strategy.

**111111111111111111111111**

"My beautiful wife," Danny continued as Max stumbled backward down the hall. "I was actually waiting for your boyfriend to come home, but you'll do nicely. Your first boyfriend was easy to take care of, but as for Kenny . . . I want to make him suffer a bit more."

No, Max's mind screamed, as he advanced toward her. A frantic glance around the hallway for a weapon proved useless, he can't hurt Kenny! Sam? Oh my god, Sam! How many people can this man destroy before someone stops him?

"You should have never tried to beat me," Danny snapped, pushing her up against the wall. "I own you, till death do us part."

"I'd rather be dead, then with you," Max finally spat, as his warm breath invaded her nostrils.

"Oh, that's an option," Danny agreed. "I am quite angry with you Maxine, and you will be punished for what you have done. I want to enjoy you first."

"Go to hell," she cried, shoving him with all of her strength. "I hate you!"

"You love me," he said coldly, as he held her firmly against the wall. "We're leaving this place together and it'll be just the two of us, as it should be."

"No," Max said matching his tone. "No."

He crushed his mouth to hers as she stood as still as a statue and tried not to vomit. "No choice here. Let's go."

He loosened his grip, as he began to drag her down the hall. As they made their way through the living room, Max eyed Kenny's bowling trophy on a table. As he dragged her by, she stretched her hand as far as it would go and felt the cool metal between her hands. He turned, just as Max raised it above her head and brought it down with all the force she could muster.

**111111111111111111111111**

Kenny and Skeeter pulled into the lot of Kenny's apartment building, on the vague hope that Max might be there and not picking up the phone. Amanda was murdered in her home, and Sam in his hotel room, so both were praying that when they opened the door they wouldn't be looking at a body.

"That's her car," Kenny said quietly. "And she didn't pick up five minutes ago."

"Maybe she's in the shower?" Skeeter said doubtfully, as they stepped out into the cold night, "Or has a pair of head phones on?"

"Yeah," Kenny said distantly, ready to blow off Danny's head if he had harmed her in any way. "Let's do this."

**1111111111111111111111**

"No damn it," Max cried, as he tossed her aside and the trophy crashed in the coffee table, "Damn!"

She scrambled to her feet, as he flung her across the room toward the kitchen. If only Kenny had left his gun, she thought, eyeing the drawer that he kept it locked in. Pulling herself to her feet in the kitchen, she grabbed a small knife off of the counter, and blocked it from Danny's view. Better then nothing, she thought, as she dodged his grasp.

"I said we're leaving," he said flatly. "Stop playing games!"

"You're insane," Max spat, more disgusted then fearful of him. "I'm not going with you. Now or ever."

He lunged and she landed on the kitchen table. Grabbing her by her wrist, Danny began to drag her by her wrist again. Contorting her leg at an impossible angle, Max smashed it into the back of his knee, and as he fell to the ground, her other foot connected with his nose.

"Bitch," he hissed, lunging at her again, as she raised the knife at his chest.

**1111111111111111111111**

"What was that?" Kenny asked, shoving his apartment door open, gun raised as they heard crashing and muffled voices.

"Freeze! Police," both men yelled in unison as they burst in to the totaled apartment and saw the two bodies on the floor. One kneeling, and one face up on the floor.

"What took you so long?" Max asked hoarsely, the small knife sticking out of Danny's chest, as blood bubbled around it.

Both men quickly re-holstered their weapons, as Skeeter quickly checked for a pulse, and Kenny grabbed a blanket to wrap around a trembling Max.

"You seemed to do okay on your own," he said softly into her ear.

"He's dead," Skeeter announced, turning toward them. "Right in the heart."

Max nodded, as she tried to digest his words, and couldn't quite manage a response. Hazily she saw them radioing you back up, as she gazed at her dead husband on the floor.


	12. Feelings

-1"She doesn't look so good," Jimmy said under his breath after Jill had checked her out.

"She's in shock," Jill repeated, looking at the pale young woman with her head buried in her hands. "Justifiably so."

Jimmy nodded visualizing Danny's dead body sprawled out on the floor of Kenny's living room. "I need a statement from her Jill. Is she up for it?"

"I'd wait until tomorrow Jimmy. She just had a horrible trauma, and I want her to get some rest," Jill said softly pausing. "You're not thinking of charging her are you?"

Jimmy shook his head. "He knocked her around pretty well before she stabbed him, I saw the bruises all over her back and stomach . . . I want to know what happened. Things are never what they seem in this town."

Jill nodded, and turned her gaze to her young friend. "We know how Max faked her death, but what about Danny? There was a body cremated, police report, people had to know about this."

"We'll find out," Jimmy predicted. "For now I want to know what happened tonight."

"Hey, what's going on?" Kenny called knocking on the doorframe after the department finished investigating the crime scene that was his apartment.

Jimmy gestured toward a shocked Max. "You want to talk to her?"

Kenny followed his boss' gaze, and his heart broke for his devastated friend. I'm the last person she wants to talk to. I should call Sam, she wants him, she's made that clear. Screw it, be her friend again. "How is she?"

"She could use a friend right now," Jill interjected. "No interrogation tonight. I'm going to give Max something to help her sleep, and then question her all you want tomorrow."

"Okay," Kenny said, making his way slowly toward her. I just want to wrap my arms around her and never let go. "Max, Honey. Hey, it's going to be all right."

She lifted her head slowly from her hands and shot him a blank look, "All right? Are you kidding me?"

Kenny didn't like the low and flat tone to her words, and he took a cautious step closer. "Maybe not all right . . . at least not now,"

She cut him off. "I killed my husband, Kenny. Asshole that he was, I killed him. How am I supposed to make that all right? How is that any different then what he did to me?"

He could see the guilt and doubt swimming in her eyes. "It's plenty different. You never did anything to him Max, and what did he do in return? He beat the shit out of you for years, terrorized you, killed your baby, and all of that . . . he would have killed you too."

She shook her head, processing his words. "Too?"

No one told her, Kenny thought, as she watched him carefully/ "Uh . . ."

"What else happened?" she asked slowly, as she replayed the night in her mind and something fell into place. "Oh god . . . Sam. He said something about Sam."

"He's fine," Jill said joining them. "It was touch and go for awhile, but he pulled through."

Max tried not to picture Danny attacking Sam, and her guilt deepened as she thought of the man who had supported her through her fake life. Shouldn't of happened.

"He'll be up for visitors tomorrow," Jill continued in her silence, as she shot a glance at her husband talking on the radio. "If you want to go."

Max nodded silently, and wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep for days to forget that all of this happened. I can't get away from it, she thought, marrying Danny just keeps haunting me . . . and my friends. I never thought that one bad decision would echo for so long. He thought he killed Sam, he was going to kill Kenny…because of me. "Yeah," she replied quietly, knowing that Sam deserved a lot more then she could ever give him,. "Danny . . . is he really dead?"

Kenny and Jill exchanged a quick glance at her question, one that Max didn't miss as she continued. "I don't know . . . people just don't seem to stay dead around here."

"He will," Jill confirmed, wondering what Jimmy was talking about for so long on the radio.

Max nodded again before asking,. "Then who was in his cell? There was a body . . ."

"We don't know," Kenny answered, his heart breaking for her, as Jimmy came over to them.

"We might now," Jimmy added, shooting his trembling former deputy a shrewd glance to decide if this was the right time to fill them all in. "There is a man missing in Greenwich, who Danny knew socially, and maybe you did too."

"Who?" Max asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"A Michael Bernard," Jimmy answered, watching her as she sunk back against the chair as the news hit her. "I take it that you knew him."

"Uh huh," Max managed to get out thinking of the man who had offered her his ear at that last party she and Danny had attended. What did he say, she thought? When I need to talk about what was bothering me, I could go to him? Oh shit . . . What did Danny do to him? Michael . . .

"Does this seem possible?" Jimmy asked after a moment, as Max digested the news,. "Max?"

"Yeah," she said finally, picturing Danny's face as she had talked to Michael that last night. "He always held a grudge . . . even if it was just something stupid. How . . . why? What the hell happened?"

"A grudge?" Kenny questioned to her ramblings. "What grudge?"

"That night," Max began, trying to clear her thoughts. "The night I lost the baby, before that, we were at a party, and Michael was there. We were in the same social circle, and Michelle and I were talking with him, then she left to do her hosting or something. Danny was so mad . . . he thought . . . he was so angry when we got home."

"So he killed him," Jimmy asked, thinking the theory made some bizarre sense, at least in Danny's perspective. He had wanted to cut Max off from everyone but him, Jimmy mused, and by eliminating the competition he was doing that.

"I don't know," Max said softly, thinking of the kind hearted man who had tried to help her.

"The body was cremated," Jimmy continued. "Danny's dead, someone else had to be involved."

"Probably a lot of people," Kenny added. "He hung himself in jail cell, or the other person. His face was all over the media, did these two look at all alike?"

"No," Max replied,. "Polar opposites. What about Amanda?"

She watched the other three exchange a look, and knew that it couldn't be good news then.

"She's dead," Kenny finally offered.

Max nodded sadly thinking that she was so young. "Did Danny . . ."

"It would seem that way," Jimmy replied, "How well did you know her?"

"She was a lot younger then me, not well," Max replied. "She didn't stand a chance with him."

Jill watched her exhausted patient and friend, and knew that this conversation could go on all night. "I want you to get some rest, I've got something here to make you sleep, Max."

Max took the bottle reluctantly. "Thanks."

"We'll figure this out," Kenny said softly for only her to hear. "It's over."

She smiled gratefully at him, and hoped that what he had said was true.

**121212121212**

"She still sleeping?" Skeeter asked Kenny the next morning.

"Yeah, those pills knocked her out," Kenny replied. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

"That's what friends are for," Skeeter said. "Plus with the wife and kids gone, I was getting lonely."

"It should only be for a couple of days," Kenny said, wondering how it would be for Max to go back to the place where she had killed Danny. "Any news yet?"

"Just what I read in the paper," Skeeter said tossing it over. "This is the stuff that tabloids feed on."

"Cancel the Headstones," Kenny read aloud as he skimmed the headline and story. "Are these the most dysfunctional spouses ever?"

"Not good."

"Max is going to hate this."

"Hate what?" she asked feeling the lingering effects of the sleeping pills in her mind. Kenny, she thought, feeling his eyes on her. I wanted his arms around me last night, no, I can't…No.

"Nothing," they said in unison, as Kenny stuffed the paper in the trash.

"Subtle," Max said yawning. "And you're both bad liars."

The two men exchanged a look before Kenny replied. "Just the newspaper, it's not being too flattering."

"I'm sure it's not," Max replied dryly.

"How you doing?" Skeeter asked, watching his pale friend carefully. "I was worried about you for awhile."

"I'm not sure," Max said slowly. "This whole thing . . . it just doesn't seem real to me anymore. It's just too big and messed up . . . it doesn't seem possible that it is my life. I just want to crawl under the covers and hide."

"Not your usual style," Kenny commented, hating to see her look so defeated.

Skeeter eyed the two of them thoughtfully, and hid his smile of the obvious connection between them, and he hoped when this gigantic mess went away that they would act on it. If they hadn't already, he mused. Kenny loves her, and she's a mess.

"I know that Jimmy and Littleton are waiting for a statement from you," Skeeter said.

"I know," Max said softly. "I want to get that over with."

She swallowed as she thought of Michael, Amanda and Sam, and how all of these people who had nothing to do with this were dead or hurt. Why didn't I see that he was insane earlier, she thought? Am I that dense?

"You want anything to eat? The kids left a barrel of cereal before they left for their vacation," Skeeter asked.

"I'm not hungry," Max replied, the thought of food making her a little nauseous.

Kenny bit his tongue knowing that she would snap if he pushed her too much on anything right then. He tried not to be concerned by her too thin frame, or by the fact that she looked like she was ready to collapse.

"What do you want to do?" Kenny asked.

She shrugged. "I'd like to get my statement out of the way . . . then check up on Sam."

**1212121212121212**

"What did you think?" Jimmy asked Littleton a few hours later after Max had filled them in on the night before.

"She seems a little shook up, but her story checks out with what we found," Littleton confirmed. "Her injuries, the bloodstains, the damage to the apartment, they all match. Now as for Danny's reappearance, that's something to look at more carefully. Any word on the body? This Michael Bernard . . . has he turned up yet?"

"No, but Greenwich is looking," Jimmy answered. "The autopsy pictures mysteriously missing, but the person that Carter talked too has to know something else."

"What about Sean?"

Jimmy shrugged. "He's looking into it, but there is so much cover up I can smell it from here. We're going to have to do a lot of digging, and I know we're not going to like what we find."

Max knocked softly on Sam's door, and took a tentative step closer as he turned his head to look at her. "Hi."

"Hey," he said back with a weak smile. "Glad to see you."

Right, she thought sarcastically, all I've done since I've known you is get you hurt. One way or another. I should be the last person that you ever want to see.

"Yeah," Max agreed walking slowly over to the bed. "I was worried about you."

"The doctors say I'll be fine," Sam said, seeing the guilt on her face. "Just a little bruised and beat up. Nothing worse then the scuffle in the parking lot."

Max smiled slightly at his flippant attitude, and tried not to stare at the bulky bandages peaking out from under the covers. "I'd say that this is a tad worse then a fist fight."

"Maybe a little," Sam conceded, gazing at her and pausing a moment. "So that was him?"

Max nodded. "Yeah."

"How did you put up with that? I mean," Sam trailed off trying to focus. "He did that too you . . . a lot I guess. Isn't he supposed to be dead?"

"I'm not sure what to answer first," Max began, taking the chair next to the bed. "He said he'd kill me if I left, and that I belonged to him. I believed him after awhile, and it seemed impossible to go. As for Danny being dead . . . or not so dead, that's what has to be figured out. No one is too sure yet."

"How are you?" Sam asked, looking at the bruises on her arms that he knew probably covered the rest of her body. "He said he was going to bring you home later, after he killed your other boyfriend. He really hates Kenny."

"Kenny's my boyfriend, she thought distracted, before answering. "He tried, but . . ."

"What happened?"

Max swallowed. "You don't know? I guess sometimes hospital stays have their perks."

"Max," Sam asked seeing the reluctance in her. "What happened?"

Max sighed internally, and didn't want to repeat the whole story she had just told Jimmy and Littleton a few hours ago so she said simply. "I killed him."

Sam didn't say anything for a few moments as he struggled with the fact that she was even capable of that. "Was he going to . . . Did you have a choice?"

Max shook her head as she thought of everything that played out that night, "No."

Sam nodded. "Don't feel badly then, I don't know what it took to do that. It seems like he had it coming for a long time, and he obviously had something terrible planned for you."

"I'm so sorry," Max said in a ragged whisper. "Sam . . . you had nothing to do with any of this, and look . . . You don't deserve to be lying in some hospital because of the psycho that I was stupid enough to marry."

"You're not stupid. You were young and in love. Sometimes that clouds things," Sam said quietly. "It makes you see what you want to see."

Max nodded. "Everyone told me and I refused to listen. I should of trusted my friends, but no. I ran off, eloped, moved halfway across the country and…I let him do this to me. He destroyed me, and…I don't know why these people still care about me."

"It's because you're great, and you made a mistake."

Nothing but mistakes, Max thought, as he intertwined his hand with hers. Kenny…I hurt him, more then anyone else…how can he love me? Do I …No. "I'm so screwed up. I used to be…I wasn't always like this."

"I love you."

Everyone loves me, Max thought, I can't…This isn't fair to them. I can't… "Sam, I…I do love you, I just…I can't do this. I need to get myself together, figure out who I am before I can … It isn't fair to you or me."

**1212121212121212**

"Thanks," Jimmy said as he hung up the phone, and turned back to Kenny and Skeeter, "We might have something here."

"Well," Skeeter prompted.

"Danny's grandfather was the district attorney in Greenwich about 15 years ago, and he played golf regularly with the Police Chief there," Jimmy began. "Who is still there. Both a have a lot of sway in that town, and that night there was the Greenwich High School Winter Formal. Not a lot of people around the station house."

"Plenty of time for his crooked relatives to switch the bodies," Kenny finished.

"Yeah. The medical examiner went to college with Danny," Jimmy added. "So it would have been easy to have him write a fake autopsy."

"Can we prove any of it?" Skeeter asked. "Or is this just all hearsay?"

"Not yet, but Sean's digging around up there," Jimmy admitted. "And Carter is talking to the person that gave him the pictures that showed that Danny was alive in the first place. Someone has to know something."

"They probably were paid a lot of money to keep quiet about it," Kenny began, wanting to throttle these rich snobs for their disregard to what this man actually did. It was okay because he was one of them, Kenny thought disgusted.

"We're not doing that," Jimmy lectured. "My department doesn't work that way."

"Do these people have any idea what they did? They let an abusive lunatic go free," Kenny replied, feeling his temper start to rise as he thought of everything that Danny had ever put Max through. "One who beat his wife regularly, which they probably knew about and ignored, and then he went out and killed two people! And tried to kill two more! And now they're trying to cover the whole thing up! Do they even care?"

"No," Jimmy said dryly. "They have a reputation to uphold."

"What about the people who got hurt?" Skeeter asked. "They just don't matter?"

"Some people can just be bought," Kenny replied. "Money can wash away a lot of guilt."

"It also leaves a trail," Jimmy said. "And Max is inheriting it all . . . she'll be getting the financial records."

"How soon?" Kenny asked. "These people had to be smart enough to cover that stuff up."

**1212121212121212**

"You're someone else that I wanted to see today," Jill said from the doorway of Sam's room. "I worried about you all night, Max."

"You shouldn't have," Max replied. "Those pills really knocked me out."

"That was the plan," Jill said with a motherly smile, noting at their joined hands. "Are you two catching up?"

"Hey, a pretty girl always brightens my day," Sam said with a weak smile.

"And you," Jill began, turning to her patient. "Have some ex-rays scheduled for this morning that you need to get prepped for. I had a long conversation with your parents, and they're driving here as we speak."

"This isn't the visit I had planned," Sam said quietly, looking away from the two women.

"Sam," Max faltered, as he turned back to her. This isn't fair to him. "Jill, can you give us a few minutes?"

She's going to break his heart, Jill thought, she is such a mess. "Sure, I'll be back."

"I love you," Sam said, as Jill left. "This…The whole time he was doing this, he did that to you for years. That's all I could think about, and you got away. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

"You don't know me. I don't think I know me anymore. Sam, I love you too, but I need some time and space. I killed my husband, after faking my death, and…I can't handle being a girlfriend now."

Sam watched her for a long moment. "If they never showed up, what would you have done? Would you of ever told me?"

Max bit her lip, mulling over what was more or less what Kenny asked her. "I didn't want to be me, I was in denial and…no, I wanted to be someone else for the rest of my life. I wouldn't of ever told you the truth until it was forced on me. I would of lied to you for your entire life."

Sam smiled despite his pain. "At least you're honest. You could of told me, I could of helped."

Just like Kenny, her mind screamed, as she forced herself to stay calm. "I didn't want help. I just wanted to start over, and you gave me that. I can never…thank you. Sam, I need some time. I love you too, but…I can't right now."

"I need to get you down to ex-ray," Jill said quietly, as the orderlies came in, as she listened to their conversation. She loves him? That's a surprise. "Max, you need to get some rest yourself. Bruises and broken ribs don't heal themselves."

"Yeah," she agreed, wanting to flee. "Sam . . . I."

"Just come back," he said, giving her hand another squeeze. "I love you."

She nodded, and followed Jill out into the hallway so that the orderlies could load Sam's sore and bruised body onto the gurney.

"Are you okay?" Jill asked, seeing her pained expression.

"Not really," Max replied. "I just keep thinking about all those people."

"You didn't kill them," Jill said quickly. "It's serious, isn't it?

Max shrugged, "That's what people keep telling me, but he killed them because of me. Serious? Yeah, it was."

"Danny took enough lives, don't let him take yours again, Max. You don't owe him that. If you want to do something for everyone that he has killed, live your life. Don't sit here and wallow in self pity because if you do he will win. Don't let these people's deaths be in vain. We just got you back in our lives," Jill continued in her silence. "And I don't want to have the ghost of Danny hanging around. Neither do you."

Max nodded slowly. "Thanks."

Jill smiled at her young friend, and pulled her into a quick hug. "Any time."

**1212121212121212**

"Teeth fragments confirmed that the body belonged to Michael Bernard," Carter confirmed that same day. "They definitely performed an autopsy on the wrong body."

"What does their medical examiner say? Danny's friend?" Jimmy asked. "Anything?"

"He lawyered up," Littleton called from the doorway. "And wants to cut a deal."

"What type of deal? He lied about who the dead person was, and let a deranged lunatic go free," Jimmy balked.

"Apparently there were a lot of other people involved, higher ups," Littleton countered. "Like the police chief, a judge, the list goes on. He's ready to spill, and I say let him."

"I'll think about it," Jimmy conceded. "I still want to look at Danny's finical records to see if they show who exactly he paid off."

**1212121212121212**

"You sure that you're all right with this," Kenny asked Max a few days later as they stood outside his apartment door for the first time since Danny's death.

"I'm good," she insisted, trying hard to believe that herself. I need to talk to him, about everything. "Really."

Kenny bit his tongue at her obvious reluctance to go back to where she had killed her husband, and knew that she was trying to be strong about his. "Okay then."

Max felt his arms tighten around her waist as he unlocked the door, and she was grateful for him not buying her brave act. I'm grateful to Kenny for a lot of things, she thought, sneaking a glance up at him. No, not just grateful . . . Max tried to make sense of her jumbled thoughts, as she took her first hesitant steps inside the dim apartment. Glancing around she was vaguely aware of Kenny flipping on some lights, and she mentally tried to prepare herself for seeing the blood splattered floor.

"You look like you're going to pass out," Kenny commented to her pale expression, as he saw her look over to the kitchen. "Have a seat."

"I'm fine," she said shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Kenny, really, I promise I'm okay."

"You're a bad liar," he said with a grin at her stubbornness. "But a pretty one."

She smiled at him, forcing herself to relax at his flirting. "It seems strange to be back here like nothing ever happened. I'd like to pretend that it didn't, but I can't."

"You didn't have a choice," Kenny said softly, as she looked away. "You know that."

Max nodded. "I know . . . and I'm not sorry that he's dead. I wasn't the first time, he was an evil and twisted man, and I wish I never got involved with him. I must of had my head up my ass not to see it before, or as Sam put it . . ."

"How?" Kenny asked, curious to see how Sam's outside perspective saw all of this. He's not a bad guy, he just has what I want.

Max turned back toward him. "I was young and in love, and I saw what I wanted to see. For someone high on pain medication he was awfully insightful about a lot of things."

"What else?" Kenny asked, trying not to be jealous of the other man. She's happy, let her be happy.

"Stuff," Max said vaguely, before sighing. "He told me a lot of the same stuff you did."

"Max?" he asked.

She looked up at him, confused about her raging emotions. "I need some time, Kenny. I know what you want from me, I know what Sam wants. I need some time by myself to sort through some things. Can you give me that?"

He stared at her for a long moment. "I'll give you anything you need. Max, I know I pushed this on you, that it wasn't fair. I missed you, I mourned you, and…I didn't want to lose you again. If all we ever can be is friends, I'll be happy with that. I want you to be happy."

Max gulped at his sweet words. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I didn't want to ruin what we had. I thought this was our second chance."

Sam, she thought, I'm sorry, Sam. "Kenny, I…You're the best guy I know. I should of…I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing to me," he stated. "I get it, okay? He's gone, Max, you're free."

She took a steadying breath, wanting to give him something back. "This is our second chance? You really believe that?"

"I have my back from the dead best friend back, of course it is."

Max stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his, before she could think better of it. Catching his grunt of surprise, he kissed her back softly, not wanting to spook her. When she pulled back, he stared at her for a long moment. "Max?"

"Just…give me some time?" she asked.

**1212121212121212**

"Danny's finical records," Littleton said dropping them onto Jimmy's desk. "Sent to Max's lawyers for review, and they're interesting reading."

"How so?" Jimmy asked eyeing the tall stack of papers in front of him.

"Not only was a million dollar check paid out to his friend the medical examiner," Littleton explained. "There was one to Chief Andrew Mizura, Judge Greg Allaire, and two rookie officers, Austin Blackstone and Tim DeCrosta. And the medical examiner, Anthony Rivers. So Danny bought his freedom, or his family did, but something is still missing."

"How so?"

"Why would he go to all the trouble of making it look like he was dead if he planning to come back? He killed a lot of people linked to him," Littleton mused. "A lot of people were involved in this thing Jimmy, and eventually one of them was going to crack, it's just the way it works ."

"He was planning on getting caught? Or someone else was planning on it," Jimmy thought aloud. "His fiancé would have made sense, but she's gone. Who else?"

"Who else would have hated these people that much?" Littleton added. "Amanda, Michael, Sam, Max . . . and even Danny? They used his sickness to manipulate him to kill these people."

"And because he was a escaped felon, no one would think twice about it," Jimmy added. "There isn't any proof though, and all the principal players are being looked at under a microscope. If anyone else was involved , one of those five have to know about it."

"Lets get on it then," Littleton said.


	13. Passions

-1"These people don't talk to much," Skeeter commented, as he skimmed the article about the Greenwich cover up. "Although the leak of their pay offs seem to be making them squirm a bit."

"They'll be falling all over each other soon enough," Jimmy predicted, putting his copy of the article down. "I talked to Morell last night, and they're getting ready to indict everyone in the next few days. All five are under surveillance, and no one is going any where."

"Five million dollars," Skeeter mused. "And what did he get out of it? If I was going to bribe a bunch of people with that much money I would at least want my freedom."

"He was obsessed," Jimmy answered. "But . . ."

"Yeah?"

"Who was doing the money transfer?" Jimmy asked. "His lawyer? His good friend the medical examiner?"

"His lawyer had power of attorney," Skeeter replied slowly. "So that would me access to the funds . . ."

"Call the bank," Jimmy ordered. "And see if they have it on record. I have feeling that this isn't over yet."

**13131313131313**

"I'll give you anything you need," Kenny said, his lips still stinging from her kiss. "Max, you're my best friend, the woman I love…which I know you don't need to hear right now.

She shook her head. "It's nice to be loved. And I know you do, and that this isn't fair to you or Sam. I do love him, Kenny, he was great to me. I want you to know that, he's a great guy. I just don't think…I don't think I'm in love with him. And I wanted to be, if I stayed in Seattle…I think it would have been fine."

"He made you happy there?"

"As happy as I let myself be."

"Good. I like him, Max, if he made you happy. What?"

"You don't like him," she sighed. "You never liked anyone I dated. It was because of this…what you feel about me? Were you jealous?"

"Yeah, they had what I wanted. You."

**13131313131313**

"Who the hell is that?" Jimmy sputtered to Sean on the phone as he watched the bank tape on his computer screen. "That isn't his fiancee?"

"No, Amanda was half a foot taller then this woman," Sean verified. "I gave your friend Morell a copy of all these tapes, and I think Judge Allaire is about to crack. The idea that he might have to spend the rest of his life locked up with people he sentenced to prison is beginning to get to him."

"That is something at least," Jimmy conceded glancing at the small woman on the screen, "I think I'll have Max take a look at these, see if she knows her."

"How is she doing?" Sean asked. "I hope better then the last time I saw her."

"She's holding her own," Jimmy answered truthfully. "I'm personally relieved that Danny is out of her life for good, and I know she is trying to put everything back together."

"Well she's set financially," Sean replied. "She earned every cent."

"She doesn't want it," Jimmy said, "Max doesn't want anything from him, much less his money."

"So what is she going to do with it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Jimmy said. "I doubt she'll use it to pay off any government officials like the dearly departed."

**13131313131313**

"A woman? Who isn't Amanda? I don't know," Max trailed off. "One of his patients maybe? He had a lot of connections Jimmy, in the community, the hospital, and in a lot of other places apparently."

"Do you want to take a look?" Jimmy ventured, gesturing to his computer screen. "You do know these people at least."

"I used to," Max said softly. "This isn't ever going to be over."

"Yes it will," Jimmy promised, giving his former deputy a shrewd once over, as she gazed at the video playing across the screen. "Anything?"

"Hmm," Max mused, leaning in for a closer look. "Can you get a close up of her face? That purse too . . . I've seen it before. It's a Louis Vuitton, the one to have at the moment, and not many people do."

"A purse," Jimmy asked in disbelief. "You're going to identify someone by their pocketbook?"

"You want this solved or what?" Max retorted, "Haven't stranger things happened around here?"

"Much," Jimmy agreed, as he got a close up of the bag and the hand holding it. "Better?"

"Uh huh," Max agreed, as she gazed at the picture. "The ring too . . . oh shit. Can you do the face now?"

"Max," Jimmy asked at her pale expression. "Do you know who it is?"

"I think so," she said softly. "Even with the brown wig, you think when people disguise themselves they would do a better job. A new hair color doesn't do it."

"At least you had glasses too," Jimmy said as he enhanced the picture. "Better?"

Max swallowed as she looked at her old friend. "I wish it wasn't."

Both jumped as someone knocked on the door, and Littleton poked his head in. "I have some information that you two might be interested in. Who is that?"

"Someone taking money out of Danny's account," Jimmy said, shooting Max a sideways glance. "Who I think was just identified."

Littleton glanced at his folder. "Fill me in, and we'll see how well it meshes with what I have."

"Michelle Peterson," Max blurted out. "We belonged to the same social circle in Greenwich."

"Are you sure?" Jimmy asked. "Positive?"

"Yeah, she had that bag when she came to see me in the hospital after Danny attacked me . . . in the courthouse, and even with that awful brown wig, it's her. Those diamonds too, and that's her face. I'd stake my life on it."

"Did you know someone named Dawn Slater in Seattle?" Littleton jumped in.

"Dawn? Yeah, she was a waitress at the Red Baron," Max said shaking her head. "Why?"

"Her sister is Michelle Peterson," Littleton stated.

"You're serious?" Max stammered, not believing it. "Jon?"

"Michelle went to see her last October," Littleton said, as Max sunk onto the couch. "I talked to Dawn, Max, and she said that she was going to introduce the two of you after Michelle said that you looked like someone she once knew, but never got around to it."

"Oh god, if she knew," Max gasped. "Why didn't she tell Danny?"

"Dawn said that she saw her sister lurking around the entrance to the restaurant in the Red Baron," Little continued.

"Why?" Max choked out shocked that someone else besides Jimmy and Kenny had figured out her fake death adventure. "If she knew . . . it was so obvious that Danny had no clue that I was alive when we saw him in Greenwich."

"I'm sure she had her reasons," Jimmy said dryly. "I'll let Sean know."

Max watched the two men in a daze, as the complications in her life drifted through her thoughts. It's never going to end.

"There is more," Littleton said interrupting her thoughts. "Chief Andrew Mizura is Michelle's Uncle as well."

"What would she get out of Danny being sprung from prison?" Jimmy asked. "And keeping you being alive a secret?"

"Let's have her brought in, and find out," Littleton replied.

I'm not sure I want to know, Max thought as Jimmy snatched the phone up to call Sean.

**13131313131313**

Max yawned a few hours later, and wished that she could crawl into bed. After Littleton's news about Michelle and her id of the woman she had been forced to sit in the station all day. Well I can see why they're reluctant to let me go off by myself, she thought wryly, thinking of the last time. I wish I knew what was happening though.

"You look like you're about to pass out," Kenny called from the doorway of Jimmy's office.

"It's been an eventful day," Max said with a tired smile.

"No news yet," he asked venturing inside. "Hey, I'm off in a few hours, and I think Jimmy will let you out of here then."

"I think I can take care of myself," she said without much vigor, as he joined her on the couch. "But I haven't really proved that lately."

"You've more then proved it," Kenny argued. "Not everyone could have done what you have in the last few years."

"I've had this conversation so many times," Max said softly, before sighing. "I can't believe this . . .Michelle? Being Dawn's sister?"

"We live in a strange world Max," Kenny said, aching to touch her then. "We'll just have to wait it out."

"We?"

"You're not alone," he said softly.

She shook her head. "It just seems . . . that everyone I ever knew is turning out to be well different then I thought they were. Me too. I guess that we're all good actors when we have to be."

"Not everyone out there is part of this," Kenny said, as she turned to look at him. "It may seem that way now, but there are people out there who care about you."

"I know," she said with a small smile, as Jimmy and Skeeter came in.

Skeeter shot a quick glance at his two friends sitting a little too close on the couch, he thought, to be just friends.

"Morell and Sean picked up Michelle," Jimmy said without preamble. "And Dawn is flying out to Connecticut to give a statement and I know she wants to talk to you."

"Great," Max said without much emotion.

"You'll probably have to fly back out there to make the line up id," Jimmy continued, wishing that things were different for Max. "They don't have a motive yet, but Morell is hoping that she'll let something slip when they interrogate her."

"She hasn't let anything slip yet," Max retorted with more emotion then she intended. "If she did do this, how could she have? Why would she want to? She and Danny barely knew each other?"

"We'll find out," Skeeter interjected, "We've come this far, this has to be almost over."

"Yeah," Max agreed, not sure that she really believed him.

**131313131313**

"This is a small world," Sam said, after he finished giving Skeeter and Kenny his statement the next day. "I knew Dawn had a sister, but she knew Max? Is she doing okay? I haven't seen her in a few days."

Kenny and Skeeter exchanged a look before Skeeter shrugged. "She seems to be, although I know all of this is taking a toll."

I hate him, Kenny thought, no he made her happy. That's all I want is for Max to be happy. "You're getting out of here soon? Max is heading to Connecticut tomorrow."

"I think she's ducking my calls. She told me she needs some space."

"She's been through a lot," Kenny replied, thinking about how she kissed him the other night. "I really don't know what's going on in her head most days. She needs to heal."

Sam regarded him for a long moment. "She told me how close you were."

Casual, she is still his girlfriend, I think. Hot and cold, that's how's she been with both of us. If I didn't know her so well, I would think she was playing games. "Max has been my best friend for years. She's been…She's overwhelmed with this. Space may be the best thing for her."

"You care about her too."

I love her, Kenny thought, and I think we can have something pretty great. All I can think about is kissing her again. "Of course I do."

"I was going to ask her to marry me, back in Seattle."

It was serious, Kenny thought, she would of done it. I know she would have…she wanted to be someone else that badly. He loves her, he's in love with her…this Abby person she created. He doesn't know her like I do. Maybe that's the problem? She can't pretend with me. "Yeah? Still planning that?"

"What are your intentions with her?" Sam asked suddenly. "Is there something I need to know?"

Crap. "My intentions?"

"Is there something between the two of you?"

"Me and Max?" Kenny asked, unsure of what to say. "You'll have to ask her. She's my friend, temporary roommate. Anything else…that is up to her."

Sam fell silent, contemplating it. "You love her too."

No, don't. She'll kill me. "That doesn't matter. I want her to be happy, that's all I care about with Max."

"That's what I want too."

Kenny nodded, as Skeeter said. "Thanks for your help Sam, and have a safe trip home."

The two deputies made their way back to their patrol car in silence before Skeeter blurted out. "Is something going on between you and Max? You guys seem awfully close lately."

"Uh," Kenny began, not sure what it really was.

"It's none of my business," Skeeter continued. "But if you two are dating, or something, I think that's great. Max deserves someone who will treat her right, and you've been crazy about her for years."

"Max is a wreck. She wants space, time, whatever…She's not ready for anything."

"She flies to Connecticut tomorrow?" Skeeter asked.

"Yeah," Kenny replied, knowing that he wasn't able to go with her. "Littleton and Jimmy will be there at least."

"She'll be fine, this is the last of it," Skeeter promised.

**13131313131313**

"This Michelle hasn't admitted to anything," Jill asked Jimmy that night as he tossed some under things in a duffel bag.

"I'm curious about her sister. Unless she is a moron, she had to put two and two together. Her sister Michelle lived in Greenwich, and after the news of Max's resurrection was splashed across the paper, Dawn had to figure out that the two knew each other," Jimmy theorized. "And that Michelle knew Max when she was out here visiting. So why didn't anyone say anything earlier?"

"Maybe you and Littleton will be able to crack them," Jill said, placing a soothing hand on her husband's arm. "I know all of you want this over."

"This thing keeps getting more layers," Jimmy replied. "And I wonder how many people Danny dragged into this."

Jill nodded, as Jimmy finished packing.

**13131313131313**

I swear that I'm going to be a hermit crab in my next life, Max thought, as she, Jimmy and Littleton ducked the reporters as they clamored up into the Greenwich Police Station. At least that Chief Mizura and his crooked officers are out of here.

"Good to see you again," Morell greeted them, as Sean came up behind them and gave Max a long stare before his face broke out in a grin.

"Really good," Sean said, extending his hand to Max. "You have no idea how much I worried about you since that day in the hospital. You've come a long way since I last you."

Max smiled back at him. "I never thought that I would see you again."

"I was pulling for you," Sean said. "A lot has happened since then."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "I know you've been helping with that too."

"I can't be bought like some people," Sean said. "But those people inside, we'll get the story out of them."

"Ahem," Morell said, interrupting their reunion. "Someone needs to make a identification first, and we'll go from there."

"Okay," Max said nodding, feeling oddly relaxed in Sean's presence. "Let's do it."

**13131313131313**

Michelle paced the interrogation room after her stint in the line up, and waited for her lawyer to join her. These handcuffs are not good accessories she thought, eyeing them distastefully, and I have no intention of wearing them for the rest of my life. No way am I going to jail for this, I've worked to hard on this, although it didn't go exactly as I planned it too. George had his affairs, and I finally find someone who I can love, and look what happens. That dumb bitch had to get in the way. She was never one of us. She whirled around as the door opened, and she knew one of the men as Max's lawyer, and the other was unfamiliar to her.

"I have nothing to say to any of you," Michelle said turning away, as her lawyer Linwood Robinson came in.

"That's too bad," Littleton said smoothly. "Because you've been identified through bank cameras accessing someone else account. We have your prints on withdrawal slips and checks. Was Danny Shreve really worth all the trouble?"

"I hardly knew him," Michelle replied, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice.

"Okay then," Jimmy interjected. "Why didn't you tell anyone that Max was alive when you saw her in October?"

"I figured she had her reasons for being dead," Michelle replied evenly, as Sean pulled some photographs out of his folder.

"We searched Danny's house yesterday," Sean added, flipping through the photos. "And he seems to like photographing the woman he was involved with."

Sean toss the pictures on the table, and Michelle recoiled in shock at the images of her and Danny in bed together.

"How long were sleeping with him for?" Jimmy asked lowly, adding infidelity to Danny's long list of crimes against his wife.

"Long before she died," Michelle spat back, as Linwood tried to shush her. "Little bitch was never one of us, and she didn't deserve him! She deserved everything he ever did to her! I loved him! But he decided to marry Amanda Morris after she died, after all I had given him over the years? I satisfied him in ways that Maxine never could! And he still wouldn't let anyone know about us! Then when I found out she was alive . . . I wanted to kill her."

"Why didn't you?" Sean asked.

"Danny loved her," Michelle replied wildly over her lawyer's protests. "And if I killed her, he would never forgive me. I told Dawnie everything, and she promised to watch her for me. Then when she came back . . . I thought it might work if they just divorced, but no. Uncle Andrew said there was a way, and I thought that we could finally be together. We would live abroad, and he would finally forget about that little bitch. I even got rid of Amanda, but he just had to go and try to get her back."

"This will never hold up in court," Linwood blustered, as she fell silent.

"Bullshit," Morell said dryly, turning to Sean. "Take her back to her cell."

**13131313131313**

"Abby, er Max," Dawn said hesitantly in the waiting room, "Hi."

Max sprung to her feet, not trusting this woman for an instance. "Dawn."

"I don't know what to say to you. She's my sister, I love her," Dawn said from the doorway, as Max eyed her warily. "I didn't know that it would go this far. I never wanted anyone to get hurt, we were friends."

"Your sister got my psycho husband out of jail by bribing people," Max retorted.

"I didn't know! She told me that you had reasons to be hiding from your husband, and she didn't want to rock the boat for you," Dawn said quietly. "And you did have good reasons too, but I had no idea that she was having an affair with him! She and George had been together for years, and I thought that they were happy. And you and Sam were so happy too, she wanted me to just watch out for you she said, and make sure that everything was working out for you."

Max nodded, not sure that she believed her former friend and was grateful to see Littleton come in behind Dawn.

"You ready to go?" he asked, shooting Dawn a glance. "We're done here."

"Really?" Max asked, hearing the finality in his words. "For good?"

Littleton nodded before turning to Dawn. "I hear you got an immunity deal?"

"She's my sister," Dawn said softly. "But she did all of this, and I probably could have prevented it. Maybe in some small way this will make up for some of it."

"Maybe," Littleton said. "Max? You ready?"

"Yeah," she said shrugging on her coat, and turning back to Dawn. "Take care of yourself Dawn."

"I'm not sure how I'm going to face Sam," she said. "Back in Seattle. I was sick when I learned what had happened to him."

"He's very forgiving," Max said dryly. "Give him a call."

Dawn nodded, and prayed that her sister wouldn't hate her forever because of this.

"You bitch!" a voice screamed, shaking Dawn out of her thoughts. "You damn bitch!"

"Michelle," Max replied, taking a giant step back toward the room as Sean held her back.

"You didn't deserve him! I loved him, and we were going to be together! You'll pay," Michelle screamed as she caught sight of her sister. "And you! How dare you! We're family! You'll regret this, Dawn!"

"I already do," Dawn said softly.

"You didn't deserve him," Michelle screamed again at Max. "We were together when you two were married. He loved me!"

"Rather you then me any day," Max snapped back. "You were welcome to him."

"He loved me!" Michelle screamed again, as Sean dragged her back to her cell.

"Let's get out of here," Littleton said after a moment.


	14. Moving

-1***3 Weeks Later***

"I love living with you," Max insisted. "I do."

"But?" Kenny asked, looking at her packed bags, knowing how they've been over this before. "Max, you can stay as long as you want."

Because you're not forcing anything on me, Max thought, the picture of restraint. This isn't fair to him, I know what he wants from me. And Sam…He's getting out of the hospital. He's still my boyfriend. Too many men. I need to be me again. "I know, and I appreciate that. I need some time, Kenny. Alone time. I'm not running away or hiding."

"Just got used to having you around."

"It's not like you're never going to see me again."

Sam is going to Greenbay, he thought, after she sees him tonight. Her new place is out f town, in the middle of nowhere. Max, what are you doing here? You're going to hide in the woods and what? "Furnished too? You want to get dinner, after you get moved in? Max, pizza, beer and a bad movie, nothing fancy."

"Just like the old days?" she said, smiling despite her melancholy mood. "I'd like that a lot."

**141414141414**

"Come with me," Sam said, as he sat in his wheelchair. "For a few days."

Max gulped, as she sat in the hospital chair across from him. "Sam, I'm moving into my new place, I need to get settled. I'll come visit."

He stared at her for a long moment, before sighing. "I'm going to fight for you. I don't understand your relationship with Kenny, I asked him and he told me to talk to you. Is there something I need to know?"

Max shook her head, unsure of what to say. "No, maybe, I don't know. We've always been close…He told me he loved me, that he always has. I don't know how to deal with it because it's Kenny and…I don't know how to deal with it. And I love you, Sam, you're a great guy and you've been wonderful to me, when all I did was lie and almost get you killed."

Sam stared at her for a long moment. "Do you love him?"

Good question, Max thought, do I love Kenny? Can I love him? "Sam, I don't know."

"Yeah, you do," he replied. "You know, and you're lying to yourself, me and him about it."

"We have a lot of history," Max trailed off. He knows me, he's seen my best and worst. I've agonized over him, fought with him…kissed him. Those kisses were more amazing then anything. "I'm not ready for him."

"Is that what I'm here for then? The safe choice, until you're ready for him? That isn't what I want from you. I was going to propose to you, back in Seattle, before any of this happened. I can understand why you didn't tell me the truth, but I'm not going to play second string with you. I love you, I want this to work, but if you're just stringing me along, we need to stop. And if you do love him? Tell him. Be honest with him."

"I'm sorry, Sam."

Me too, he thought.

**14141414141414**

"I can't believe you let her move out," Skeeter said. "I heard Sam left for Greenbay and his parents."

Kenny nodded. "Yeah. She hasn't said much about it. All she said is she needs some time and space. We're getting dinner tonight. She…I don't know what to do with her."

"You've waited a long time for her."

"Yeah. I've never…She does this to me. I know she's been hurt, that she is healing. She has me going in circles, and…I don't know how she is going to react from day to day."

"You two haven't, you know?"

Kenny shook his head. "I think her head may explode if we did. He, Danny, he left some scars in her. She isn't…I don't know what is going on in her head sometimes."

Skeeter grinned. "She's not stupid, she'll figure it out. Time and space? Don't force anything on her."

**141414141414**

"You are too thin," Jill stated, as she set the bag of groceries on Max's counter. "You need to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine, Jill," Max said, closing her laptop. "Really."

Jill regarded her young friend for a long moment. Clad in faded denim cut-offs, tank-top and her red hair falling halfway down her back. Too thin, she thought again, wary, skittish…this isn't the Max I knew. "I love your hair like this."

She ran her fingers through it. "Thanks."

"This place isn't easy to get here," Jill continued, looking around the secluded cabin. "That's what you wanted?"

"Yeah. It's quiet. I can think here. Breathe."

Heal, Jill thought, that's what you need. She's damaged. "Have you gone to see Sam yet?"

Max bit her lip. "It's done. Over. He…We talked about…He's going back to Seattle when he recovers."

"Oh."

"It's fine…It was…I love him, but not like he wanted me to. I'm not who he wanted me to be. He loved Abby."

"You liked being her?"

"I wanted to be anyone but me. My life was a disaster, it still is."

"It's over. Max, you're free from it all."

She took a steadying breath. "I know. I need some time. I need to be alone and figure out who I am again. I need a break from people."

Kenny, Jill thought, she's talking about Kenny. She's an idiot about men. "You mean Kenny?"

"He told me he loved me," Max blurted out, as spilled it all to Jill.

**14141414141414**

"And you can't sit around waiting for her," Skeeter said. "She's pretty screwed up."

Mooning over a woman who isn't even sure she wants me, Kenny thought, the one who breaks my heart every time I look at her. This isn't me, it isn't how it was supposed to turn out. "I know. I want to give her what she needs, but…I don't want to believe we missed our chance."

"You think she'll come around?"

I don't know, Kenny thought. I can't keep doing this.

**14141414141414**

"What?" Jimmy asked, as Jill filled him in on her conversation with Max. "I know he cares about her, Jill."

"She's so confused," Jill sighed. "She's so hurt still, Jimmy. I don't know if she's ever coming back from this. She feels guilty."

"Danny did this. He beat her, nearly killed her and killed all those other people. She needs to get over it."

"Get over it? The emotional scars aren't going anywhere, and I think losing the baby traumatized her. She wanted to be someone else, she abandoned her entire identity. I don't think…She needs help, Jimmy."

"Kenny said they were having dinner tonight."

"That isn't what she needs."

"What do you want to do then? She's 32, an adult."

**14141414141414**

Time, Kenny thought, space, as he watched Max come back from the kitchen with two beers. 'Nice place you got here."

Max glanced around the furnished cabin, as she handed him his drink. "I like it."

In the middle of nowhere, he thought. She's going to hide out here. "Yeah?"

"What?" she asked. "If you have something to say to me, just say it."

That I love you, he thought, and that you look incredible in old jeans, purple tank top, and all that hair. That you're breaking my heart. That you're it for me. "Anything in particular you want to hear?"

He's baiting me, Max thought, regarding him thoughtfully. Before Danny came back, I made that decision. To tell him. To try, and then…I'm no good for him or anyone. He thinks he loves me, that's all. He doesn't know this new me anymore then Sam did. Why is he still looking at me like that?

"Max?" he asked in her silence. "You still with me? Take a load off, eat, what?"

"Just nerves, I guess."

"Max, come on. It's you and me, we've done this hundreds of times. I'm not going to do anything to you."

Believe, she thought, regarding him for a long moment. I was going to tell him yes, lets try. Then Danny came back…Do it. Let him know me again. Do it. He loves me, I know he loves me. Plopping down on the couch next to him, she swung herself on top of him, so she was straddling his lap.

"Max?"

Do it, she thought, wrapping herself around him. He loves you, there is something there. I know it. Pressing her lips to his, she leaned in closer and melted into him. Let him love me. Feeling his surprise as he kissed her back, she tilted her head back to deepen the kiss. "I'm yours. I've always been yours."

Kenny felt his chest tighten at her words, as he ran his fingers through her hair. This is Max, my Max. What is she doing? "Max?"

"Take me."

She's lost it, Kenny thought, as he tried to control his reaction to her closeness. This isn't what she wants…I want her. "Max?"

She kissed him again. "Show me how much you love me."

"Max," he groaned, reluctantly pulling back and studying her flushed face. "Max. Wait, Sweetheart. What are you doing?"

"Isn't this what you want?"

"What's going on in here?" he asked, still combing through her hair. "I'm not looking for sex…It's more with you and me. This isn't you."

Max pulled back from him. "You don't know me anymore."

"Yeah, I do. He hurt you, Sweetheart, I get that. He hurt you so much, you wanted to start over, be someone else. That Jimmy and me finding you destroyed that, and made you have to deal with everything again. You're still you, and I love you."

Max gulped back her tears, as Kenny held her tightly. "I know you do. Kenny, I…Before Danny came back, I was…I was going to tell you….Then…Kenny, I."

He hugged her tightly to him. "It's okay."

"It's not okay. I'm not okay. I want to be."

"I'm not going anywhere. I know you need some time, space, but Max, Sweetheart, I love you. I'm here for as long as it takes. What were you going to tell me?"

Max stared at him for a long moment, believing every word he was saying. Tell him. Let him know. "That…I wanted to try this. You and me."

Then Danny, Kenny thought, I hate him. If she didn't kill him, I would have. "You still want to try this?"

Max nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Kenny continued to comb through her long hair, as they held tightly to each other. Nerves, he thought, she's still full of nerves. "You still want to fool around?"

Max smiled despite herself, before kissing him again. "What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"You just jumped me on the couch," he teased, as he kissed her back. "Come here, Sweetheart."

**141414141414**

"Kenny adores her," Jill continued. "And I think they'll end up together. She needs help, Jimmy. Therapy, counseling, something."

"Max won't go to therapy."

"Of course she won't. I know she's said over and over she needs time and space. She shouldn't be living alone in the woods."

"Maybe that is what she needs. She's hurt, Jill. As for Kenny? I saw them together in Seattle, he loves her."

**141414141414**

We should stop, Kenny thought numbly, as they lay on the couch making out. God, she tastes good. What is she doing to me? I can't control myself much longer.

"Come upstairs with me," Max murmured in his ear. "I want you inside me."

"Max?" he groaned, as she kissed him again. "Max?"

She sat up, and pulled her tank top off. "Touch me."

I can't stop, he thought, as he pulled her down to him and devoured her mouth with his. Max, my Max, he thought, as he fiddled with her bra strap. What has gotten into her? What is she doing to me?

Max tossed her hair back, as she unbuttoned his jeans. Yanking them down, she kissed him again. "Touch me."

Ah, Sweetheart, he thought, as they slowly shed the rest of their clothes. I love you, I love you so much. "Come here, Sweetheart."

Max smiled, pushing her hair out of her face, as she straddled him again. "Where else would I be?"

Kenny groaned again, as he pulled her down closer to him. Kissing her, they lost themselves in each other.

**141414141414**

Jill smiled at that. "He's always loved her. He mourned her for a long time…She isn't the same person she was five years ago."

Vulnerable, Jimmy thought, skittish. Rich. "Max is pretty smart, she'll figure out what she wants."

"Did you read this?" Jill asked handing him the paper. "Millions of dollars being donated to women's shelters? Do you think…she inherited a lot of money she doesn't want."

Jimmy skimmed the article. "Anonymous donations…Jill, I wouldn't be surprised."

**141414141414**

"Hey," Kenny said the next morning, as Max rolled over on her side and looked at him bleary eyed. "Morning."

What did we do, she thought, did I really just sleep with him? No, Max thought, it's a good thing, I've never felt anything like I did last night. Oh, I'm not ready for this. Will I ever be ready for this?

"Max?" he asked nervously. "You okay?"

She smiled at him, forcing herself to relax. "Yeah. I am. You?"

I've got everything I want right here, he thought, combing through her hair again. "Yup. Your hair is amazing. I love it this long, this color…I think I have a thing for redheads."

"You never saw me as a blond."

"Blonds are nice too."

Max flicked a piece of her hair back. It is long, she thought, I've never had it this long. God, we did this, we slept together. Are we…Oh, it feels good to be in his arms. I wanted this too, why couldn't we have done this a few years ago? "I think you like all women."

"I more then like you."

And you've made that clear, Max thought, thinking of his sweet words. "I know."

"I'm off today and you're unemployed," he said, tugging her in closer. "Want to hang out? Right here, all day?"

"In bed?"

"You still naked under there?" he asked, pulling her in closer. "Hmm, options, Sweetheart."

Max giggled despite herself, feeling content in his arms. He's sweet, she thought, he loves me…Why didn't we figure this out sooner? "Yeah? Like what?"

She needs to laugh more, he thought, seeing a glimpse of his old friends. "You tell me. I like what you pulled out last night."

She laid her head on his chest, really unsure of where to go next. "It was amazing. Best sex of my life."

Kenny looked down at her for a long moment. "It isn't a one time thing."

She intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed his hand. He wants me, he loves me, and I want him too. "Can we go slowly? Last night was great, and…I want this with you."

Kenny nodded, kissing her again. "We can do anything you want."

Why did we wait so long, Max thought, as he continued to touch her, why? Oh, God what is he doing to me?

**141414141414**

"Max mention this to you?" Jimmy asked a few days later, handing Kenny another article about donations. "This her?"

"What?" Kenny asked, reading it. "No, she…there is a lot she doesn't tell me."

"Meaning?"

Kenny shook his head, thinking of the woman he spent the last four nights with. "There is a lot she keeps inside."

"Are you two involved?"

"Me and Max? We're…starting something."

"Something?" Jimmy repeated. "She's still pretty vulnerable."

No kidding, Kenny thought, she runs hot and cold with me. The sex is amazing, she says and does all the right things. She isn't…Something is missing with he. "Yeah, I know."

**141414141414**

Max frowned, as she continued to type. My story, she thought, I'm pathetic. No one is going to want to read this…what were these editors thinking? A victim. I let him do this to me, and then I ran away. I'm no inspiration to anyone…and I killed him. I can't do this.

"Max?"

"Hey," she said, shutting the computer. "I didn't expect you until later."

Kenny smiled at her, still too thin, he thought, in gym shorts and sweatshirt. "Slow day. What are you doing?"

Max bit her lip, a little unsure she wanted to tell him or anyone. "A magazine wants me to write about what happened, so I'm giving it a shot."

Kenny looked at her for a long moment. "Really? Max, that's great."

"It's not any good. I can't write…I don't like being a victim in it."

"Max," he smiled, combing through he hair. "You're not a victim, Sweetheart. You're a survivor, and I love you."

She smiled back at him. "I know you do."

And you're not going to say it back, Kenny thought, I know that. I could kill him for doing that to you. "Hey, Jimmy showed me an article in the paper about donations to women's shelters."

"Yeah?"

Give me something here, he thought. "Yeah? Is it you? I know you don't want to keep the money. Come on, Max, that's a lot of money."

"I have buckets full of money that I don't want. Those programs are under funded. It's an anyomous donation," Max said quietly, as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "I missed you."

He kissed her back, before pulling back to study her for a long moment. "Max?"

"Hmm?" she murmured, kissing him again. "Kenny?"

"You want to get out of here?" he asked. "Get dinner or something?"

"You don't want to be alone with me?"

What is she doing, he thought, as she moved in closer. "Max, Sweetheart?"

"What do you want to talk about?" she sighed, pulling back. "I'm tired of talking, explaining, all of it. I'm fine."

"You are not fine!" he practically shouted, as she jumped back. "God, you flinch away, you're hiding in the middle of the woods, and you're letting yourself waste away! This isn't you! Don't give me that crap about not knowing you either because I do! Max, I love you, but you're driving me crazy."

"What do you want from me?" she shouted back. "You want me to be who I was, but she's gone. I let him beat me, kill my baby, I ran, killed him….You kept telling me you loved me, that you want to be with me….I gave you that! What more do you want?"

"I want you to want it too!" he shouted back. "Max, damn it! Get this through you thick skull, I love you, I've always loved you, but…if it isn't what you want, I don't want to force it with you!"

"I love you too!" she shouted back, before recoiling in surprise at her outburst.


	15. Epilogue

-1"Max?" Kenny asked after a long moment. "Sweetheart?"

She shook her head, not quite meeting his gaze. "I love you, Kenny, and…I'm screwed up. I wanted to tell you, years ago, and I never thought…God, I do though."

He wrapped his arms around her, and tugged her in closer to him. "We were both dumb, huh?"

She nodded, relaxing in his arms for the first time. "Yeah."

He combed through her hair, unsure of what to really say. "You know I'll give you whatever you need? I don't want to push you."

"I need a push," she murmured, not wanting to leave his strong embrace. "I don't want to hurt you."

Like Sam, he thought, not letting her go. "I know. I'll take the chance, Sweetheart. I know you can't let it all go, just like that."

She looked up, as he squeezed her tighter. "I want to. I want to be me again, but…being me is what got me into this. My life was so simple in Seattle…no one knew me. I was someone else, with no past, no mistakes."

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I know that is what you wanted. I don't know this Abby chick, I'm sure she was great, flawless…but she wasn't you. I love you, Maxine Stewart, flaws and all."

I do love him, she thought, holding on tightly. "Now what?"

"I want everyone to know about you and me. That I have such a hot babe. If you're not ready, I get that reporters still follow you sometimes, that you need time…I love you, and I could shout it from the rooftops."

Max kissed him again. "From rooftops, huh? How about dinner first?"

**151515151515**

"They are sweet," Jill sighed, a few weeks later. "You know Max hasn't said a word to me about it?"

"Max keeps a lot to herself these days," Jimmy stated, glad that she wasn't just hiding in her cabin anymore. "Kenny said she's doing okay. And he is in love with her."

Jill smiled at that. "He has been for years."

**151515151515**

"You and Max, huh?" Skeeter asked. "I saw you guys out in Windsor the other night."

"It's still new," Kenny started, before breaking into a grin. "It's good though."

"She looks good too," Skeeter said, before wincing. "I mean, she was kind of bony, worn down, exhausted looking for awhile. I think she was actually smiling."

Few and far between, Kenny thought, thinking of the woman who held in his arms every night. "She's doing okay. She has a lot she's sorting through, but…She's okay."

"When are you popping the question?"

"What? No…God," Kenny sputtered. "Married?"

Skeeter grinned at his friend's reaction. "I've seen the way you look at her."

"We're not there yet," Kenny said. I don't know if she'll ever be there. "Married? It's only been a few days."

"Right."

**151515151515**

Max smiled to herself, as she leaned back in the chair in her yard. I'm okay, she thought, feeling the sun on her face. I'm really okay. Article done, money donated, with enough to live on for the rest of my life. And Kenny…He loves me, he's been so sweet. And I do love him, why didn't we do this five years ago? Things would have been so different.

"Max!"

She jumped, as her solitude was disrupted. "Hi."

Kenny grinned at her, as he plopped down beside her. "Hi, Yourself."

"Do you ever go to work?" Max teased, pressing her lips to his.

"At least I have a job."

She smiled at that. "I'm enjoying my unemployment and combat pay. I know I need to do something. I just don't know what yet…something beside tabloid target. I mailed off my article."

"Yeah?"

"And I feel good," she continued. "Really good."

You look good, he thought, combing through her hair. Relaxed, happy, smiling at me, married, really Skeeter? I'd marry her, not yet. She'd freak, and I've pushed her enough. "You want to get dinner or something?"

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Kenny? Thank you, for everything. I don't think I could of done this without you. You're the best guy I know, my very best friend, and I love you."

He squeezed her back, at bit taken back by her words. "I love you too. I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Good because I want to spend the rest of our lives together."

Max smiled, despite her nerves. This isn't slowly, she thought, as he held her close to him. I can barely handle today, and he's talking the rest of our lives. No, believe in it. Believe him…he'll never hurt me, never lie to me. "The rest of our lives, huh?"

"One day at a time, Sweetheart, right?"

"I like today."

"No pressure, Max."

She smiled up at him, kissing him again. "Kenny, I want all that too, and I want to give it to you. We're going to make it. I love you."

The End


End file.
